#( feat. my oc but I know what you guys would rather see )

[sheriffslop]

Hello Rain Code fandom, take a sketch of the local dilf. 💋✨🥂

[n0tamused]

HOLY SHIT FUCK ME SIDEWAYS THAT DRAGON WUWA POST?????? EMUACH

thoughts on dragon calcharo and scar tho??? if u have any,,,, if not, its oki too take ur time😚

A/n: HELLO NOBUUU!!! <3 I'm so happy you liked the first part oml, and I'm more than happy to give a part two to that as well! I didn't expect people to ask about my OC too, but that's really sweet and decided to include her at the end too :,) Hope you enjoy! Lemme know if you guys want anyone else as dragons, HSR, Genshin or Wuwa

Contents: Calcharo, Aalto, Scar x reader, Encore (strictly platonic familial stuff), Jien(oc), fluff, dragons

Wuthering Waves characters as dragons pt.2

Calcharo:

-Another dragon that is a long way from his home and closely related to the dragons of the New Federation. 

-Not the one you see around too often, as he does tend to avoid civilization where he can, even avoiding flying if that would get him too much attention, but honestly he is really pretty to see in flight-

-He is scarily beautiful, and some people managed to catch a picture or two of him in flight from afar, so it’s one of those blurry “is it a unicorn” pictures that people spread around like wildfire

-Due to his lack of contact with others, a lot of ghost tales began to circulate around him, and gossip has it that he wasn’t born as he looks now. People say he was born pure as snow, but somewhere down the line, the gods cursed him, and now he physically bears that curse in the shape of tough black scales that spread over him unevenly, and the golden star on his chest is said to be the only place a blade can pierce him. A few courageous, or rather stupid, individuals did try to test this theory for glory and money that an anonymous bidder has set on Calcharo’s head. But those people were never heard from again.

-The climate around Jinzhou is not his favorite, so he tends to retreat into the mountains a lot where there’s a cooler breeze and colder caves to rest in properly. His mane helps him with regulating body heat, but it is in no way made for summer heat.

-It is said that Calcharo and Jiyan are in amiable talks with one another, with both patrolling the territory of Jinzhou and protecting it in their own ways. Two sides of the same coin, as one would say. Jiyan has also made attempts at bringing Calcharo to meet the others, to get to know the people, and when he did Calcharo was rather reluctant to leave his dragon form, and he walked there in his towering form. But when he was met with wonder, warm welcomes and greetings and with some small pushing from Jiyan, he caved in and showed the people his human form as well. Sure, there was some reluctance in people’s eyes as well, but their General vouched for this newcomer and told them of the feats he accomplished in the name of them or their protection, and they had faith in their General Jiyan.

-From that point on, the ghost tales did lessen, and the children of Jinzhou seemed to find it easier to wander further into the woods, and the adults found it easier to relax with two of the strongest dragons patrolling the territory. 

-However, Calcharo wouldn’t be able to cover all that vast territory alone, and from a long while ago he has pulled a few trusted ones into his fold and under his wing. 

-Be it other dragon folk like him, or regular people, he has many ears and eyes all over the lands, to the point he doesn’t even need to leave his mountain cave to know what goes on in the city at the foot of the mountain. Due to this, even if people began to regard him as an ally, they still do not dare to provoke him in any way, and criminals have begun to walk on their tip toes, afraid to poke one of Calcharo’s spies or men that he was so protective of. 

-Calcharo doesn’t hoard much of anything in his caves. Perhaps some weapons, but for the most part it is all barren. Sometimes moonlight shines into the cave from some hole in the ceiling of the cave, making his mane the color of beaten silver, and making all his markings go pale. He nearly looks covered in snow, pure white again.

-He doesn’t like you traveling so far up the roads just to see him, but if you do, he does keep you around for a few days to make your journey worth it. In that short time you stay with him, you find his cave gets quickly filled with supplies necessary for you to have an enjoyable/comfortable time.

-He doesn’t often nap or sunbathe, he also claims the sun hurts his scales. Due to their uneven thickness and distribution, one part of him could benefit from a bit of the sun, but the other would just start burning. 

-Although he looks like he is constantly scowling and sneering, he does greatly appreciate your presence. The quiet around, and the exploration you two seem to undertake suddenly seems more lively and worth the time to look at.

-Be it that you’re dragonkin or just a human, he does take you for a flight. Sometimes he does this if he is mid patrol or mid mission and he can’t just keep you behind. He knows he has what it takes to defend you, so he doesn’t mind you tagging along.

-His mane is also  free real estate bed, go ahead and bury yourself in it and while you’re at it you can also use another strand of his long mane as a blanket.

-He smells fresh too.

Aalto:

-One of the friendliest dragons, and he certainly looks the part as well with how soft he may look and behave. He is the dragon people see a lot around, and some claim he brings down the morning mists and others say he can wash clouds away with his wings to make way for the sun, but that’s all folktale. He can create mist and make his escape safe and quick, or his attack, but he finds fun in other folktales that surround him.

-Due to his breed, he really doesn’t look fit for battle, and many dragons misjudged him for his lack of limbs that could otherwise serve in a fight. But, naturally, they are wrong about him. 

-While Aalto lacks in mass, size and limbs, he makes up for all of it in agility, speed and intellect, using whatever environment is around him to his advantage, and you’d be surprised how much strength his talons have. 

-He has a lot of power in him for a seemingly “weightless dragon”.

-Aalto is also often seen near or around little Encore. And when she begins to stir trouble, or trouble finds them, he is quick to snatch her up in his talons like an eagle snatches a fish out of a lake, and flies off into the mist to disappear

-Aalto is also not the one to hide in his dragon form. He understands that he is already perceived as “weak” to some extent, driving some to believe he isn’t even worth attacking, and so he sees it as no harm in indulging in human activities as well, which also have their own merits and advantages, especially in his field of work. How else is he supposed to get all that information if he is this one big stumbling beast? Come on! This is Aalto! He knows way better than to let gossip stop him.

-Even if the gossip was the other way around, he would be sure in his skills to take on whoever goes after him. His senses are as sharp as a blade, and he does notice a lot even if he doesn’t let it on, especially since he doesn’t let it on.

-He has quite a characteristic chirp in his dragon form, it is a really sweet and comforting sound and can sometimes mean playtime, and he often uses it when Encore is around or some other kids that he is around with in that moment.

-Although he is very well met with people all around the place, he does his best to not let any of them get under his skin and worm themselves in his heart, as such could mean potential danger in his missions. So while he is surrounded by people, he does sometimes feel left out and alone.

-You seem to melt all that away though, standing at his side and twining your fingers with his before taking him to get food or drinks, saying how much his absence was noted, not just by you but by others as well. The lady that lives next to you that has grown accustomed to seeing Aalto come to your door with gifts and meals has begun to ask if he left you, already preparing a mouthful of scolding words, but upon your reassurance that he was simply working, she quieted down. And the kids in the streets began to wonder where their “sky dragon” had gone off too. They do this every time, no matter how many times he leaves for work.

-His mane isn’t fur, and although in some places his feathers give the illusion of fur, they’re just fine and thin feathers that are also well kept and clean. You can swear the mist has something to do with it. 

-Aalto often does leave behind a feather or two for you to keep before a trip, and slowly this big vase in the back of the house is starting to overflow with giant feathers of your lover

-He brings you other gifts too, some of them big so they only fit in your yard, and others smaller that fit inside your house

-He is quite the cuddly dragon with you, but be warned he does love to snatch you up and take to the skies when you least expect it

Encore:

-Make way for Encore! This sweet little baby brings a lot to the table, even much more than any other dragon ever - Aalto probably 

-She is the sweetest, and she is such a ball of energy, it can be hard for anyone to keep up with her. She loves to play with other children that are around, usually giving them rides on her back since she is still a bit big in comparison to a grown adult, let alone a small child. She dares them all to stay on her back while she jumps and bucks and  rolls around- which, hey, can be dangerous and Aalto makes sure there is no rolling at least unless they want someone to become a human pancake

-Due to her age, her scales have only now begun to grow and form, making them soft and easily damaged. Aalto tends to get Encore to spend more time in human form than dragon form, just for safety sake. But at the moment, due to the exact reason for her scales forming, she has to spend more time as a dragon to give her scales proper space and time to grow and develop.

-Her friends give her all sorts of gifts, bows and sweets and clips, and they help her comb her hair since it is now harder for her to do so..etc

-The two sheep plushies she usually carries in her human form are now like ants in her claws but she still has them following her, like flies compared to her

-She is a restless sleeper, and usually goes to power naps in some warm grass, giving Aalto a heart attack when he just disappears, but she is back quickly enough, hopping like a deer through grass. 

-The creatures of the woods both love her and fear her. Love her since she is a lot more like them and is respectful, but she is just too loud and during playtime can get a bit rough

-Here comes Aalto to snag her up.

Scar:

-Scar is another kind of dragon that hasn’t been seen around before, at all really. He is one of a kind, and quite scary while he’s at it too. Not only is he a giant, but his horns give him such a haunting appearance. If you were to see him in the night, his towering shadow and giant horns paired with four glowing eyes staring into your soul, you wouldn’t feel the best y’know

-He tends to wander, but seems to leave no traces behind him. One day he may be in the south, and the next he is down at the coastline near the northern cities.

-From some angles he looks rather disfigured, but if he allows you to approach him, you can see that all his bones are, in fact, in their place and he isn’t broken - he just hyperflexible-

-One sound he just loves to do is that one that is akin to a laughing hyena + cougar, he mixes the sound to the point you can only just shiver or tense up. On that topic, he is quite able to mimic many sounds and make new ones, and again - this is his favorite activity to do, especially when there’s people around to spook or run off from the territory 

-I mentioned he has four eyes. The bigger pair serves for normal vision, just like you and I, but they are also eyes for a predator, while the smaller pair are more for panoramic views. Although he can hardly be classified as a prey animal, he was a small lamb once too, and had to keep watch out for bigger predators.

-Although he doesn’t breathe fire, he also has a way of manipulating flames and creating them. The ends of his clothes that hang from him sometimes catch fire, giving him an haunting look as he is mid battle and burning himself - but the flames never touch him to hurt him,

-He doesn’t lack in limbs, and he especially is more than useful in both combat and scaling mountains and rocks. He can grab and kick and slash and bite. What more is there?

-Just like with any other dragon that isn’t in much contact with humanity and that looks as scary as him, a lot of people have woven different stories about the goat dragon. It’s mostly parents scaring their children with these tales, saying how the goat dragon will snag them if they stay too late outside or if they wander too far off.

-Some other stories include details of his origin. Some adventurous spirit found old cave paintings that show a black lamb and a big herd, and so they say he was a sacrifice himself. That the form they sometimes glimpse is nothing more but a vengeful spirit that seeks those who harmed him.

-Scar can’t fly, but he can float a bit, but he can also jump really high so watch out for that.

-He also lacks a lot of scales besides for his front claws.  He may be the only dragon that’s fluffed up as he is.

-For practicality sake, he doesn’t often do his things and missions in human form - it’s just way easier to swoop in like this beast, scare off the enemy and take their things, rather than chit chat and try to get through their stubborn heads.

-He does taunt them while he attacks with those sounds he makes, and sometimes, to lure a particular person out, he does imitate the voice of someone they’re close to.

-Sometimes, he is able to morph his skull to represent the skull of a goat, but those are just illusions and not real.

-Honestly, his fut is quite nice to the touch, although the big mane is a bit coarse and really thick 

-Although the woods are the best place for hiding and stalking, his horns often get stuck on branches and plants, so he prefers open fields for this reason

-Picks you up, carries you around, just unprompted. “You’re my friend now” meme,and there’s you dangling from his claws while he goes off who knows where

-Clingy in his sleep, so clingy. You have to be present or else. Else what? No clue, but you prefer not to be chirped at in the middle of the night, even if you know it is him making all that scary noise

Wuwa Jien:

–A dragon that seems to have been slumbering for the last several centuries, or else people simply believe her to be really old. Her slumber has paused her growth, but her scales still grew hard and impenetrable. Her claws are dark gold and leave behind a faint glimmer on things or dragons she slashes with them. 

-She is another dragon that doesn’t often interact with civilization, and just prefers to keep to her woods and fields. People began to claim that leaves grow greener while she is within the woods, and winters never last too long there either. For this, people do respect her and just leave her be. Although she isn’t social, she doesn’t shy away from people if they stumble into each other. Some people have come across her as she is laying down on some big boulder, resting or soaking in some sun, others have been there as she flew overhead, and she didn’t deny giving help to lost or distressed souls that find their way to her territory

-She is still quite formidable, and similarly to Aalto, she makes up for her lack of size with intellect and strategy

-She is another dragon that can breathe fire, like Mortefi. Her flames are really pale, almost golden and burn even hotter than Mortefi’s fire.

-Some people may find trees marked with her teeth, and some say it’s because she is marking her territory, while others say she is growing even more teeth.

-Jien is quite territorial though, and isn’t too happy when many people come and go, and even less when other dragons do so. She is quite tolerable though. She has patience and grits her teeth when someone tresspasses, giving them a chance to leave swiftly, but can sometimes make some noise to give warning to the unwanted visitors - primarily dragons. The only humans she’d give such hard treatment to are those that harm nature and litter or do any other sort of harm or are scheming to do so.

-There is a story that some people like to say that involves the General Jiyan, and it speaks of how the General went to her woods to seek her out for some assistance, but as he did arrive in the middle of the night and sh didn’t recognize him, she nearly clawed his lungs out. But from that encounter and onward, there were no fights between the two, and the army of Jinzhou never lacked in herbs from then either

-Loves to fly, and can often be seen gliding over her woods, and sometimes Jinzhou city and the surrounding mountains. It isn’t often for her to travel too far, but on rare occasions she goes to Mt. Firmament, which is more often in summer, she brings back a huge block of ice with her

-She has this big pool in the rocks of one hill, a big canopy of an oak overhead - it is a natural spring in which she is known to bathe in, and also perfect for her size.

-Doesn’t shy from human form either, and similarly to Mortefi - she prefers to do her paperwork and smaller business with human hands which are more precise, rather than claws. 

Size chart and trivia:

Calcharo is the biggest one in this lineup, having both size, mass and height to him, and can easily be classified as a war dragon as well

Scar is next in line, but he is much more lanky in comparison to Calcharo

Aalto is bigger than Jien but she has him beat in the strength department

Encore, of course is the smallest one here, Aalto can easily grab her in one talon and carry her off

So far, size wise the chart would be Geshu Lin> Jiyan/Calcharo>Scar>Aalto>Jien>Jinhsi>Mortefi>Encore

Tried to base Calcharo on a more wolflike anatomy/patterns since it suits him imo. So he has shorter claws that also look like paws

Ⓒ n0tamused. Do not repost, translate, edit, and/or copy any of my works. Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated.

[fictoculus]

Dunno if you've done this before, but characters with tall reader!

This is mostly me being sick and having OC obsession brain rot, but the majority of my OCs are 5'9–6'0+ for reference by what I mean for "tall".

Love your writing, by the way! Keep yourself safe and make sure to treat yourself for all the joy you bring your viewers with your writing<3. Also, this is my first request:D

(Thinking about characters like: Venti, Diluc, Zhongli, Traveller, and whoever else you want to write/if you don't write for some of these characters, that's fine!)

౨ৎ them w a tall partner...

send a request!┊masterlist┊taglist applications

FEAT... aether, venti, itto, alhaitham, diluc

A/N... hiiii anon tysm for the request!! i loveee this idea it's so cute so i'm more than happy to write it ^^ unfortunatelyyy i wasn't able to write anything for zhongli as i js couldn't think of anything, i hope that's ok!!! also thank youuuu! i'm so glad you like my stuff, nd please make sure you take care of yourself too!! hope to see you again soon, enjoy ♡ alsooo i tried out some new colouring!! i hope you guys like ittt i think it's prettyy :3 oh and disclaimer these heights may not be accurate!!! i got them from this website but it seems pretty reliable to meee

✧ aether. - 5'4"

the traveller, the honorary knight, the swordfish II captain, the first sage of buer: just a few of the multitude of titles aether has earned from the many battles he's fought for teyvat. he's always fighting for people, protecting people, blindly jumping head-first into danger; he needs someone to protect him for a change, and that someone is you.

he always feels safe with you, and the way you stand behind him when he's chatting with friends or purchasing items from vendors makes him feel untouchable; evident by the way he practically melts under your touch.

one of the first things people tend to notice about you is your height, and although it doesn't really bother you, aether thinks it's ignorant and unfair. don't get him wrong, he loves your height, but there's so much more to you than that. he wishes people would notice your style, or your personality, maybe even your smile, anything. as long as nobody tries to steal you from him, he doesn't mind.

he'll often find himself being the little spoon while cuddling, and honestly, it's the thing he most looks forward to after a long day of completing commissions and collecting resources.

he loves how tall you are, how gentle you are, how loving you are; he loves all of you, and he hopes you love all of him too...

✧ venti. - 5'5"

venti loves the way you tower over him, and finds your subsequent protectiveness rather endearing.

your height sometimes intimidates people, and discourages them from wanting to strike up conversation with you. venti, however, was never bothered by it, and had no problem shamelessly flirting with you the very second you entered angel's share that fateful day.

the bard struggles to understand how people could possibly be afraid of you. of course, he knows how strong you are, and is aware of the lengths you'd go to in order to protect him, but nothing about your personality was something to be scared of.

the more he got to know you, the quicker he came to the realisation that you're really just a big softie - a gentle giant, if you will.

your impressive stature also means that you can carry him around. venti loves nothing more than being in your arms, face nuzzled into your chest as you take him to bed after a long day, or resting his head on your shoulder and forcing you to lift him up when he 'falls asleep''.

all in all, your boyfriend views your height is anything but negative. he loves you the way you are, and, as cliché as it sounds, wouldn't change anything about you for the world...

✧ itto. - 6'1"

no matter how tall you are, itto will give you piggyback rides. and you will enjoy them. to put it quite frankly, you don't have a choice.

even though you're taller than him, he still loves to have you in his arms, whether that means cuddling, carrying you around, or simply just hugging you from behind. something about having you in his hold makes him feel stronger and more confident than he ever has before.

the members of the arataki gang were shocked when they first met you, genta mistaking you for itto when he caught sight of your silhouette. nonetheless, they have all grown to be quite fond of you, and often leave small gifts on your doorstep which never fail to bring a smile to your face.

your height was something you sometimes felt ashamed of, however, itto always makes sure you feel happy within yourself, and will do everything in his power to wash the insecurities away; showering you in kisses and telling you just how perfect you are...

✧ alhaitham. - 5'10"

at first, alhaitham was slightly embarrassed that you were taller than him, not because of your appearance, but because of how he'd been relentlessly teasing his roommate for his height while having a partner who stands at an impressive 6'5"...

nevertheless, the scribe truly admires everything about you, and will often just stare. even though he wants nothing more than to have you in his arms, he's more than happy to admire you from afar, to watch you go about your day or make idle chit-chat with the local vendors so that he can just take you in; "archons, they're beautiful".

even though he stands shorter than you, he is extremely protective over you; intertwining his fingers with yours whenever he has the chance, and staring down anyone who 'looks at you wrong'. you often tease him for this, poking fun at his pout before kissing it away with a smile, only for it to return as you pinch his rosy cheeks.

the love alhaitham has for you is immeasurable, and the (not so) little things like your height only make him fall harder for you. his heart skips a beat when he feels your arms snake around his waist from behind, being pulled into your chest as you rest your head on his shoulder. yes, you could still do this even if you were shorter, but for him, nothing compares to being able to sink into you; he rather enjoys feeling smaller when he's with you...

✧ diluc. - 6'1"

you and your husband, diluc, stand at a similar height, him just slightly taller than you at 6'1". people often stare when you walk into a room hand-in-hand, but the darknight hero couldn't be more proud.

he never misses the chance to show you off, introducing you to everyone he knows while making sure to subtly flash the wedding ring he oh so gently slides onto your finger every morning. however, as soon as someone dares to make a rude remark about you, your husband has no problem stepping in front of you and handling the situation himself. yes, you're capable of looking out for yourself, but the redhead always feels the need to protect the ones he loves most.

the two of you are a package deal, and are rarely seen apart from each other unless absolutely necessary. diluc can't stand being away from you, and often finds his mind flooded with thoughts of you when he should be focused on the financial papers spread out on the desk before him.

being the taller ragnvindr, diluc often takes it upon himself to hand you items from higher up shelves, knowing full well you can reach them just fine by yourself. "given my stature, wouldn't it be rude not to hand my partner the things they couldn't possibly reach?", he always asks, pressing a loving kiss on your forehead and handing you whatever you were reaching for. such a tease...

thanks for reading ♡ want to read more? my requests are OPEN, so please feel free to let me know what you’d like me to write next!

TAGLIST... @maopll . @nyxmainex apply here

© FICTOCULUS 2024; please do not steal, translate, or repost my works as your own

[theycalledhimastar]

I demand your take on ABO 141 with a male reader PLEASE, there's never any good male stuff

Bestie do NOT give me this kind of brainrot, but also I accept the gift graciously-

Also, I had no idea what you wanted the male reader to be so there's a bit of everything so everyone's happy :) They come off a little oc-ish to me, the way I did the reader but oh well, I like it.

Forgive me for anything I got wrong, I'm not an A/B/O master guys. This was way longer than I initially planned, lol. Enjoy!

Omegaverse!141 x Male reader!!!

I'm not the most bright brained alright, I agree with literally everyone else and I think Price and Ghost would both be Alphas with Gaz and Soap being betas, it just makes sense in my mind. The two Alphas need the cool-headed inbetweens to keep them from toppling everything and/or butting heads from too much hormones going around.

They're all fairly skeptical about yet another person joining them for any given reason, four people is plenty and having yet another person in the fray, while it might be helpful sometimes, is a bit of a balancing act to fit into their already perfect schedule. Changing things to accommodate you, while not the worst thing, isn't the most easy feat for everyone. Especially depending on what you are...

☄. *.

You were an Alpha, purebred, built like a brick wall and about as stubborn as one too. Although you weren't loud about it, you weren't going to let people forget tat you were not to be messed with. Raised with a bit of an ego as most purebred Alphas were, you knew you were destined for greatness from the moment you presented. Started physical and mental training as soon as you were old enough, the goal had always been the military for you, no doubts about it. But you had never imagined, in all your wildest dreams, that you would be a part of the task force.

Most people, upon first glance, would likely assume you fit right in, but shoehorning you in with two other alphas was way harder than anticipated, seeing as you immediately began trying to prove yourself before you had gotten settled in. Which, would have been adorable if you weren't so damn stubborn about it.

Ghost is working out? You join him without a second thought, attempting to lift twice as much as what he's doing. Of course, his numbers were already nothing to scoff at, so all you truly succeeded in, was nearly dropping the weight on your foot and damaging your precious alpha pride. "You alright there tough guy?" Ghost seemed amused by your ambitious failure.

"Shut up." Was all you growled in retaliation, storming off to go sulk elsewhere.

Soap is practicing at the range with Gaz? You grab a pistol and try to show off just how capable you are with it, easy right? Not really. You fumble in a way you weren't even sure you understood, and to put it simply, you missed the target significantly and blew an entire round trying to make amends. By the time you had finished it, the sergeants were trying not to lose their composure and die laughing at your cockiness despite it all. Damnit, you could normally do this all so easy, what the hell was wrong!? You set down the weapon with a nearly frightening calmness despite the seething rage in your chest that demanded respect as an alpha. Your self-righteous upbringing had done you no good now as you stormed off to go beat the shit out of the next inanimate object that pissed you off.

"How exactly did he make it here?" "Eh, cap says he's good. Let 'im cool off, I'm sure he knows what he's doin."

There was no cooling off, of course, as you ended up nearly punching a hole in the wall as you had graciously slammed into the doorway in your blind rage, smacking yourself square in the nose and nearly toppling over in pain. That was, quite honestly, the last straw for your dignity as you snarled something ferocious. Not caring that it had been rather close to the Captain's office until you were unceremoniously yanked back by your scruff, held face-to-face with the unamused John Price. Although you were an alpha, even you couldn't quite deny the effect his scent had on you now. Not one of anger, but certainly not a playful one either. He was projecting his authority, silently telling you to quiet down a little and stop being such a loudmouth showoff. Shame and something akin to an excited fear sparked briefly in the pit of your stomach before you cleared your throat and swallowed hard.

"Captain." You nodded shortly, not missing the way his hand tightened around the back of your neck.

"Heard you've been causing a bit of a ruckus for the others, been busy?" He raised a thick brow, making you swallow back your nerves. You attempted to shoot back some of your own alpha scent, but it felt puny and overpowered entirely by his.

"Not intentionally, sir."

"Let's settle down a little, you've barely been here a week, quit causing trouble or I'll have to take care of your behavior myself. Got it?" He leans close, you could swear he was breathing on the back of your neck now and you know for a fact your heart is racing for reasons you don't think are fear.

Not wanting to find out what he means by that just yet, you give a quick nod that seems to satisfy him enough to let you go. Allowing you to scamper back to your room, the adrenaline cushioning what was going to be a very hurt ego when it settled in that you had been grabbed by the collar and scolded like a child. Damnit, you would prove yourself one way or another...

☄. *.

You were a Beta, always being told you were unremarkable, nearly always forgotten in the squabble between Alphas and Omegas. So, in an effort to at least be something impressive to yourself, you took to bulking up. Genetics and luck both seemed to favor you as you certainly bulked up. To the point where you were constantly mistaken for an Alpha by anyone that didn't truly know you. If they did, they would know that you were far more of the beta disposition in reality. Laid back, cheerful, extroverted enough to make friends, but not gratingly so. The perfect addition to the task force at first glance...

Minus the fact that you were both clumsy, and a little bit ditsy from time to time.

Sure, you weren't incapable, you could definitely hold your own in battle. But it seemed that when the adrenaline wasn't pumping through your veins, you were a tangle of long limbs and jumbled thoughts. It was obvious that you weren't trying to be a mess, but the others seemed to assume you were up to something. Surely, a mountain of a man like you, such a capable Beta on the battlefield, can't be such a... dolt in real life, right?

The same man they had witnessed absolutely nail a small squadron all by his lonesome, had momentarily forgotten how to lace his boots after unlacing them entirely to replace them. And had practically tied his feet together.

"You think he knows he's doin' it wrong?" "Oh he has to by now... right?" "Guys, did I get it? I'm so confused, why is this so weird!?"

Not to say you were entirely unaware of yourself, you knew you were scatterbrained at times. But you didn't know that they had assumed you were taking them for a fool sometimes. The sergeants decided to confront you about it, with Soap cornering you after a particularly amusing incident.

"Mate, ye know we've seen ye on the field right?" He sighed, running his fingers through his overgrown curls. "uhh, yeah?" You kind of stared between the two of them, completely confused as to where the conversation was going. Gaz snuck behind you, wrapping an arm around your shoulder in a friendly manner. "Right, so you don't have to act like a total numpty off the field, you aren't foolin' anyone anymore." He chuckled, nudging your head with his playfully. It would have been a comforting thing, except for the fact that you had no clue what they were on about. "What do you mean?" "Stop acting like such a hare-brained dingus. Just be yourself, mate." He shook your shoulders gently, the two staring at you so earnestly, just trying to convince you to just be yourself around them. "Oh... About that..."

Of course after that, they both felt really bad and you had to explain for over an hour that no, it wasn't on purpose, yes, you were that messy sometimes, and no, you weren't mad for their assumption. Although Ghost certainly seemed to find it hilarious that you were such a gentle giant, and a total hot mess express. Not that he told you that, truth be told, he didn't feel the need to talk to you much off of the field. Not because he didn't like you, he simply felt you fit in so well with the betas and he didn't want to throw off things. Although he did want to know how you had gotten so huge naturally.

Price thinks you're downright precious with the stark contrast between on and off duty with you. It's like you become a completely different person and he can't help but smell the scent of a content beta every time he tells you that you've done him good. He was certain that everyone could tell just how excited you were when he referred to you as "his good lad". It was a simple nickname, rolled off his tongue before he could stop it, but you nearly lit up in elation. So now not only him, but everyone else makes an attempt to give you subtle little praises like that just to see you get all giddy, and to this date you have yet to notice, or at least say anything about it.

☄. *.

You were an omega, not what any of them expected when they were told that someone would be joining them, as omega were notoriously... well... Violence avoidant to put it simply. But you were not the type that wanted to feed into stereotypes. You wanted any excuse to not become some boring old stay-at-home omega that took care of children and housework. The parts of the world you had grown up in were very traditional and expected just that of you. "Settle down with a nice Alpha, have babies, live the peaceful life." Yeah right, it was like they didn't even know what you wanted.

So, in an effort to escape that life, you decided to enlist, and it turned out that you were... actually kinda good at it despite it all. Your fight or flight chose to flee more often than not, but that meant you were quick on your feet despite the stomach churning levels of anxiety that pulsed through your veins at any given moment. Your adrenaline raced and kept you moving before you could chicken out, and that made you a damn good soldier.

Off field was a different story but that didn't really matter seeing as you liked minding your own business and having your own space more often than not.

When you first met all of them, the aura of two alphas was quite a lot, especially as it seemed at least Ghost was projecting a little bit more than he needed to, getting across the point that there was an order to the way things were and you needed to not ruin that. (He's just nervous having an omega around as he isn't used to it and he isn't sure exactly how to act around you.)

Gaz is rather quick to step in and soothe you with his beta scent, like warm coffee and vanilla and something distinct that you hadn't ever smelled before. But it soothed your racing nerves and made you feel a little less alienated. Although with a nudge from John, Ghost realized he was only successfully scaring you, and he cut it out just as quickly.

Johnny is excited to have an omega around, although he doesn't really treat you any different than Gaz. It's the equivalent of short people acting different when they're around someone shorter than them, yknow? Like he doesn't see you as beneath him, he just knows you're different than anything he's been around and he's nosey about absolutely everything.

"Do all Alphas scare you?" "No... why would they?" "I dunno, it seemed like every omega I met before was either addicted to Alphas or terrified of em." "Uh, no, I think you just knew weird people before."

Another thing, is that Price seems to view you as a sort of stray cat. Skittish if anyone approached you a little too loudly or excitedly, but plenty sweet if they got to know you. At least, that was how it was in his head. In reality, you were just an introverted guy who wanted to at least get along with his teammates and they thought you were the cutest thing ever. Sometimes, John would call you into his office just to tell you that he noticed your hard work and he was proud of you. He loved the way your cheeks flushed whenever he got close or projected his scent a little extra, filling the room with the scent of expensive cigars and warm, woody cologne. It made you a little fuzzy int eh head and he could tell, so he avoided using it. But the face you made when you got all spacey and distracted during meetings because you were sandwiched between him and Ghost, it was just too good to resist.

"You alright there sergeant?" "Yes sir, all-all good." "You look a little flushed, you sure you're not coming down with something?" He pressed the back of his hand to your forehead, trying not to smile wider when your eyes widened just slightly. "Positive, Captain..." You squeaked.

[vivizn]

Re: the tags you put on my post; you don't have to figure out the gender stuff all at once. You mentioned dresses? Try wearing dresses! Try a different set of pronouns, try a new name. None of that stuff has permanent ramifications. Take advantage of your group of non-cis friends for support with the name and pronouns stuff, they'll be thrilled to help. If you're "wrong" and you're "just" a GNC cis guy? That's still a great thing to be, if you're doing it on purpose!

(Future me here, quick info. Context at the bottom, and OP this turned out kinda long so read this when you have 5min to spare.)

Oh, uh, hi

Sorry, didn't expect a feedback on that, i was kinda yelling into the void and i keep forgetting this site is made of people ^^'

First off, thanks for reaching out, always nice to see that happening. And i hope you had, have and will have a nice day. Triple kindness in your face.

Secondly, dresses. It's kind of an ironic love that i have for those? Like, i just like wearing dresses for the bit (or on rare occasions i'll wear my skirt cuz it's faster to take on/off than pants). I say i get giddied up but It's really more because of the reaction of those around me (they find it funny (not in a mean way) so i'm glad i made them laugh).

Thirdly(?), changing names / pronouns. My *checks bio* neo-gendered sibling in christ, i can't even name my OCs, what makes you think i can name ME ToT ? As for the pronouns, eh... idk, i'm fine with keeping he/him i think, keeps things consistant. Again, default settings. I definitly need to try it one day though.

Fouthly? Fourtly? Fourd? Fuck, permanence. You fool. You absolute baffoon (affectionate). How dare you think for a moment have what it takes to handle ephemerality? I literally have mlp themed stickers still in package because i don't want to deal with using them somewhere and later not having them anymore. Either I will give up after the first time someone uses another set of pronouns, or the short period of time where they did will haunt me forever because nothing came out of it. <- also work if i end up changing pronouns, my brain is good at thinking bad. (I also have a suspicious amount of ND friends. Yeah yeah, i know, the idea of seeing a therapist sounds sexier everyday.)

5 (because i'm tired, it's 3am), being wrong. That is actually something i somewhat enjoy surprisingly. Because at least that means i have something to go off of, a starting point. That's usually all i need to start working on anything that require thought (so literally everything). I'd rather have someone tell me to do a thing and then shit on the thing they told me to do than having someone tell me "just follow your heart 🥰🥰🥰". Like, cool bro, how do i do that? Bitch won't move, how am i supposed to follow it?

1/3 of 666, credits. I never know how to close off rants because i always forget the first 3 points i try to make. So uhhh thanks to your patience if you've read through that (i feel like you would), sorry for ranting/venting(?) on what was just supposed to be a positive message i think. Thanks again for trying to reach out, but i honestly think i've got to deal with my other problems before i can tackle my gender (like the o so joyful experience of finding a job. yay.) (<- monotonest voice ever).

original post + my tags for those interested in context, AKA: hi alexxel, hi malt (watch out for the rant in your name, i'm gonna steal it), probably hi gayotic

And a pic of me in a dress because i feel like it

Couldn't find a dress so all you get is a fashion disaster, feat a hat i borrowed from a friend to complete the fit.

[tragedytells-tales]

What if: Masked Event Moment

Notes - No MC, angst? A bit of angst in Ajays section, headcanons, based off of the masked Halloween event, Feat. Gidorah, Luka, Candy, and Ajay

Summary - What would happen if my OCs were to have the cursed masks on and how would they act? Demon/half demon kids edition, because I'm bored.

Warnings - For the sake of convenience let's say Gidorah has on a cursed headband that forces a dragon to give in to their basic instincts. Not proofread.

TW - Demons being demons, talk of "hunting" and "prey"

Gidorah:

- Gidorah only acts on their instincts in minor ways such as hoarding things their friends like to have presents on hand or hunting down random objects for fun. This child would never hurt a fly, so when that cursed headband gets placed on them, they'd hurt more than just a fly.

- "It's about drive, it's about power, we stay hungry, we devour-"

- Their magic mainly manifests in their claws when they're in their second form, so they're mostly just in a destructive rage. Completely opposite from their normal gentle and calm demeanor. But they aren't following orders or listening to anyone, they're just hunting. And if the treasure they're hunting just so happens to be the soul of a demon to keep in their stash or a human to eat, then so it shall be.

- Due to having wings, they're also mostly in the air and circling the area and won't land on the ground unless they're diving for their prey. So staying inside of buildings and underneath things would be best in this situation. Their hearing is still the exact same, but their eyesight is slightly better to spot things from higher up, so moving around is safe as long as it's quick and swift.

- They're doing all of this while dressed as a lady bug btw.

Luka:

- He's wearing a bunny mask for no other reason than Candy convinced him to dress up like a bunny vampire.

- Also this mf can PERCEIVE‼️

- His magic manifests in his eyes when he's in his second form so hiding from this dude when you're within seeing range is impossible. Not because his eyes make it so he can see through things or use heat signals, oh no no no. His eyes specifically look for weak spots. So this guy is able to see a weak spot on someone as long as they're within his range of sight. You stumbled your toe? This guy knows.

- Due to not having wings, he mostly stays on the ground. But due to having the ability to turn invisible, he is able to hide in plain sight, the only way to know he's there is by having the ability to sense magic or have an impeccable vibe radar. Anyway, this guy also takes pride in his friends and family, so if you see him you should probably know that he isn't alone.

- He, unsurprisingly, doesn't act like a demon all that often unless he's defending himself or he's fighting someone. Other than that, he barely purrs, hardly wags his tail, will not wiggle his ears, and does not growl. He's not expressive in the slightest. So when that mask gets placed on him, he is as silent as a mouse.

Candy:

- "Ding dong, I know you can hear me, open up the door-" She just sees it as a big game of hide and seek.

- She's also dressed up as a fairy, like Maleficent. So her mask is really just a full faced Maleficent mask.

- Also, earthbender.

- Candy's magic mainly manifests in her vine-like hands in her second form, but the real magic is when she manipulates her surroundings. She can make plants, rocks, metal, anything that can come from the earth, appear from anything having to do with the environment. She can make a mace out of a log of wood if she so chooses. However, this also makes fighting her rather dangerous as she can and will attack with nearly anything and everything within her line of sight.

- Due to having wings, Candy will often hover or fly to places to get there quicker. But unlike Gidorah, Candy won't circle the sky or area, instead she'll weed out her prey from the ground. Hiding from Candy is rather easy if you catch her on her own, her sight and hearing range don't change and she tends to hum to give her prey a chance to hide. The issue is that she's never on her own. Gidorah and Luka will always be somewhere nearby Candy.

- Unlike Gidorah and Luka, Candy is the only one of the three who acts more demonic even without the mask. Not to the point of actively causing chaos, hating angels, or picking on humans, but she's more open to playful mischief and play fights than the other two. She even allows herself to keep her sharp teeth and eye slits in her human form. So when the mask gets placed on her, it just gets cranked to eleven.

Ajay:

- "Close to me-" moment.

- They're also dressed up as the jellyfish version of Ursula, so their mask is a masquerade mask with led lights in it.

- Anyway, this child is DIFFICULT.

- Ajays magic is funky and can change at the drop of a hat or the snap of their fingers. But the real magic is the souls the magic is tied to, or vengeance. Their magic mainly manifests in two ways, the normal way where they can bounce between abilities using their arm, or vengeance where their power is sourced from the angry souls within them. They likely won't actually use vengeance or even go into their second form with the mask on, so they'd probably just resort to using whatever ability fits the situation. If they need to catch someone who's running then it's teleport time, if they need to confuse someone in a small area then it's smoke cloud time.

- Due to not really going into their second form at all, they'll stay on the ground unless they have to teleport to a higher area or climb up somewhere. They're extremely quiet and have very good hearing, which makes hiding from them or sneaking up on them a task and a half. However, unlike the three pact rats, Ajay is more likely to be found alone and away from whatever group they're with, so they're the only one to worry about.

- Ajay, being the traumatized child that they are, never acts like a demon because they don't even know how. They just go off of their human side more often than not and their demonic instincts are entirely nonexistent to them. At least to their knowledge it is. So when the mask gets put on them, they’re likely freaking out and losing it inside and will be afraid of everything for a hot second afterwards. An extra bit of trauma for flavor.

AN - I randomly got in the mood to write for the gremlins, and had a brainwash scenario in my head which birthed this.

[studiojeon]

use me | jjk

this is part of my troubled outsiders series. i think you can read this by itself though :)

| summary | -   Jungkook was not someone to establish relationships and bonds out of interest, you knew that. Or maybe not, truth be told, he was an authentic enigma, so open yet so closed and shielded from others to see through, and that didn’t exclude you.

warnings: language (?), mentions of hook ups and situationships. mentions of emotional trauma.

contents: a compilation of moments that contributed to the growth of their relationship, jungkook is hard to read, jungkook is hard to read, jungkook is hard to read and sus. oc is kinda whipped and scared af. chaeryeong knows who you are and where you live. jk and oc are scared to let each other in. friends to lovers, idol!jungkook x student!oc.

author’s note: i hate this, but i have to get it off my chest. (the narration is off af but if i keep it in my drafts for longer this will never see the light of the day). p.s. thank u so much for the support on the last drabble <3

playlist: rain by trey songz (feat. swae lee). 

words: 4.75k

“JK?” as his broad back faces you, you call out his name timidly, not missing the way he swiftly turns around as soon as he hears his name come from your lips. Hair wet and darker than usual, a very big sweat stain at the center of his hoodie. He had just gotten out of practice, you assumed. 

“___?” he replied with the initials of your name as well, one of his tired grins plastered on his face, he must have been exhausted. You had caught on to him just as he walked out of the practice room in front of the elevator on your way to your office, right when you needed him, but now you weren’t so sure if it was a good idea to pester him. Even so, you didn’t know anyone else you could ask for help, aside from Linh who was currently in her own office doing other tasks you had assigned to her.

“Are you busy right now?” your eyes stare at him shyly, in hopes that he was willing to help you out, because you wanted to be around him, so maybe he could share a bit of his positive energy with you, the past week had been hellish.  “Could use some help returning all those heavy stacks of paper in my office”.

“Of course! Why didn’t you give me a call earlier though? It’s pretty late” he walked by your side and you enter the elevator, beginning your adventure around the company.

Jungkook was fun. Always bubbly and reciprocative, constantly trying his best to make you laugh and make the absolute best of your situation, even if he could be a bit stubborn at times. You liked the spontaneity he provided though, the way he would switch from one topic to another and how he would make silly faces at you whenever you locked eyes. 

He didn’t know, but in pure ignorance, he had just made your day ten times better. 

In the past week, you had received a lot of counterarguments, one by one, on how useless your management tactics were. Granted, you hadn’t expected for your ideas to be welcomed with open arms, but at least you had hoped they would take them into consideration. You had also been assigned a team, in charge of social media management, who worked monotonously and with little to no insertion in the actual target audience… your logic was: how can you advertise products to an audience you don’t even have the mere interest to know? You had designed a strategy, presented it, and no one paid any mind to you. 

But for the most part, you felt lonely. Had no one to talk to, nor go to whenever you needed your spirits to be lifted up.

Chaeryeong was busy busy with group projects and work. To the extent where she would get up at seven in the morning and come back at 12 pm. It wasn’t always like that, so you didn’t worry too much, but the fear she would wear herself off like usual still crowded your mind.

You close your office door with a sigh. Tired from everything, but somehow, your heart a little fuller, knowing that maybe you could use Jungkook in the future to give you a lift. Both figuratively and literally because he had offered to drive you home, being the gentleman he was.

“Why do you look like a sad puppy?” he asked you once you were sitting by his side in his very expensive and luxurious mercedes. Tinted windows and jet black shiny paint covered the outside of his car, the smell of air refresher and pinecone filling the inside. Mans was getting hotter by the minute.

“It’s friday night after the longest week of work. How can I not?” you put on your seat belt and lean back against the leather cushions. He pouts in response to you, with a concerned look on his face. 

For a second you wonder if he did this with most coworkers… being nice to them and offering them drives after having met them just a few times before. Kinda risky behviour, considering his position and squeaky clean reputation. You figure this would only last a bit before he realized he had more important things to be focusing on.

“Do you ever get chased home?” you ask randomly. 

With one hand on the wheel and the other leaned against his door he meditated on his response. “It happened once… And then I moved out, got a new car and everything. Shit was wild” he chuckles and you think that was the first time you had heard him curse, like ever. Jungkook, friendly and everything, wasn’t too big of a talker, but with you he found himself spilling, without giving it much thought. It felt refreshing to hear his voice and listen to his stories and the way he expressed himself. He was more interesting than he seemed, apparently. “Aren’t you hungry, by the way? We can have something to eat before i drop you off”

Traffic was hellish in Seoul everyday at every hour, and choosing to drive through Itaewon on a friday night wasn’t the smartest decision on Jungkook’s behalf, but you didn’t have the heart to tell him that. Considering the demands of his job, he probably didn’t know his way around the city that well. You conclude taking a detour wouldn’t hurt. “I’m starving actually.”

He ends up taking you to a restaurant near your neighborhood you had mentioned being good and not crowded at all, the latter catching his attention immediately. It was a modest but nice place owned by a very funny and loud ahjussi. The man had lost count of how many times you had come down from your apartment at 11 pm and asked him to make you vegetarian tteokguk, but they were enough so that he could memorize your five orders by heart and the amount of saewoo mandu you could down by yourself in five minutes. You were making him rich at that point so the least he could do was comply when you gently asked him to shut the place down for you. Jungkook hadn’t asked you, but you knew how things could get awkward and dangerous quickly if too many people found out about him being there. “Ahjussi, you don’t have to” the boy protested as he noticed that the man had shut the blinds for him.

“It’s okay, boy. _____ has been single handedly paying the remnants of my mortgage for over a year now, I don't mind doing this for her.” he joked in his usual nature. already writing down your order and patiently waiting for Jungkook in front of you to voice out what he wanted for a meal. “And well, you and your friends are making our country proud, it’s the least i can do to thank you”

“Ah, thank you.” Jungkook bows to the older man. Your heart softened in your chest, seeing how considerate he was towards other people. He must be great with parents, you think. “Do you really not get that many people around here?” he asked worriedly once he sat back down on the wooden chair.

“We do! But she’s the one who comes the most often” he nods toward you and Jungkook smiles once he found your gaze, a glint of playfulness in his eyes. 

“Can you recommend me anything, miss?”

“Of course, sir. Yeol-ah, double up my order. Drinks are on me today.” You yell at the man’s son in the kitchen, who was still a bit older than you, but also close to enough to let you order him around shamelessly. You knew him quite well, actually. He was Chaeryeong’s boyfriend after all.

The tall boy pokes his head out of the kitchen door with a very confused expression plastered on his face. “Aren’t we supposed to close in like, an hour?” Chanyeol asks his dad in front of you.

“Just go cook, I'll explain later”.

The two men go back into the kitchen and Jungkook looks at you with an amused expression on his face. “What was that?” he laughs.

“I’m very popular, you know?” it probably wasn’t a good idea to go there, but you felt a little drunk on his voice that night, and you also knew your friend didn’t mind. “In fact, Chaereyong from ITZY is my best friend, who would have guessed?”

“Yeah and my son is her boyfriend, who cares?” Byung-ho yells back at you from the cashier, pulling a hiss from your lips. 

Jungkook still continued to stare at the both of you with confusion and intrigue, you guess he thought you were both joking.

“Wait, really?” he utters after a few seconds with big doe eyes and a pout on his lips, a combination that appeared when he was either confused or lying, which wasn’t the case then.

“Yes, my guy.” you laugh. “That juicy legged shortie is indeed my wife”

Jungkook loved the food, to say the least. It was all vegetarian and korean as fuck, a combination he never throught was possible, but downed like thristy camel. He was a loud eater, which was fitting of him and his politeness, something else you had noticed that night. You were the opposite, and actually despised the sounds of other people eating, yet, looking at him enjoying his meal so much made you feel full yourself. He made you feel like a kid in some ways too, brought back the times when being around others wasn’t so hard, and you still could have a sense of security around you. Talking to him was rather easy, maybe because of his welcoming nature, or because in fact he actually was interested in whatever stupid shit you were saying, something most people around you didn’t do. He also, amongst other things, seemed very interested in your job and the likes, always asking questions and absorbing information like a five year old. You had explained to him the five key steps of process design and the psychological effects on marketing in society to which he always responded with wide gentle eyes and attentive nods, not once looking bored or… annoyed in any way. 

Was he like that, with every girl? Because you weren’t anything special, there were many other girls who worked with him everyday and even if you hadn’t seen him in his work space, you could guess by the way most women in your company look at him whenever he passes by that either they were just as captivated as you by his beauty or that he had fucked them. You wouldn’t be surprised if he was just trying to get into your pants either, it wouldn’t be the first time it happened to you nonetheless.

“I can walk from here, JK” you mention once you found yourselves walking towards the parking lot. A bit sad about the expense you had just made on food, it was your fault for trying to seem cool and rich, neither of which you were. 

“Oh no, I’m not letting you do that, girlie” he unlocks the door and gets in, not even letting you finish or allowing you to fight back.

“My apartment is literally a block away” you protest in the car anyways. You fear you had been too much of a bother, and deep down, didn’t want him to feel like you were seeking his presence unnecessarily.

“Well, good for you. But, you paid for the food, which was a lot, and i don’t want my sugar mommy walking by herself at 12 pm on a friday night” you first freeze, and then burst a very loud giggle.

“Whatever” you slap his bicep and roll your eyes. “ Next time you can pay if it bothers you so much.”

“So there will be a next time?” wide eyes stare back at you. “Count me in. I´ll pick where we will be going, just lemme know when so i can plan ahead” he rambles, a little too excited about your suggestion. 

He drops you off with a smile on his face and hopefulness in his eyes, promising to see you around the company. You, on the other hand, feel a tad confused as you enter your apartment building. What was going on? 

You had overthought things so much your entire life that it suddenly became too tiring to do. During the past few years you had to learn how to detach yourself and just ride the wave sometimes. Once you had turned eighteen, everything started moving at a very fast pace, the pressure of adulthood fell upon you like a brick and everything was so overwhelming that you started to simply let the course of your existence take you wherever it needed to.

That’s how you ended up going out with Jungkook at least once a week for dinner or a drive around the city for more than two months. Without even noticing, he became so engraved in your everyday life that whenever he’d cancel plans because of work, you’d find yourself with a void in your heart and a rush of boredom filling your senses. Even if you found yourself in your living room with the company of your best friend whom you had seen at most four times in the past two months, you were still wishing you could share that intimate space with him instead, willing to let him a bit more into your life, in hopes that maybe he would do the same. Sue you, you were curious over the most intricate details about his personality, how his personal sanctuary looked and if the smell of his room is just as good as his car’s. You could bet a thousand dollars (maybe a little less, considering the unconventionalism that characterizes him) that he also had a few plants that only remembered to water three out of seven days of the week. 

Hopefully life would draw you closer to more people like him.

"How's your boyfriend doing?" Chaeryeong asks you from the kitchen counter, sweet popcorn cooking in you popcorn-maker. 

You sigh. "What boyfriend?"

She was a lot of things but oblivious, and you weren't either, just when you chose to be. "Cut the bullshit, you know who i'm talking about". The fake red head waits for your response as she pours the snack into a big bowl, and you on the other hand take this as an advange to search around the room for answers.

"He's just a friend" you say. "And he's fine, i guess… He doesn't really talk much about himself" you mention, matter of factly.

Chaeryeong nods beside you, understanding what you meant. Then, proceeds to tell a tale about her experience meeting the dark haired boy. "He's literally so quiet, but like, so incredibly kind. Once he tripped over and fucked up some of the decoration at an award show" she grabs a popcorn and continues her story. "He looked so panicked I thought his eyes were about to jump out their sockets — His eyes are huge, by the way." 

"I know" you smile.

"My point is, he started to help the staff put everything back in order again. I think he's the only idol I've ever seen do something like that… i decided i liked him then" her beautiful features light up with mischief. "I bet he fucks great too."

You slap her leg. Hard.

"I'm only telling you this now so you don't get caught of guard when he actually manages to fuck you," her soft hands run through your messy hair, motherly touches easing the fluster in your body. "You know he's a big whore, right?" She adds after a while. 

You didn't. According to Chaeryeong, who seemed to keep tabs on every single colleague of hers, Jungkook had quite the body count, not that you didn't have your suspicions before. Frankly, she only knew of two girls inside her company who had had some sort of situationship with him, but for the same reason, she also knew he had some history with other girls from different groups. "Yikes" you laugh nervously, in admiration of their ability to remain calm and collected without giving anything away to the public.

Thanks to your friend, you had heard lots of tea about other singers in the korean industry before, most of which were not as sweet or kind as they portrayed themselves to be, some even using their social status to get their way with girls. But for some reason, Jungkook had never made his way to your gossipping sessions, nor any other of his band mates (except for Jimin, who, if you remember correctly, used to have some sort of beef with one of Chaeryeong's company members). You guess it was because of his unproblematic nature that people chose to give him a pass for his sexual endeavors, not that they were of anyone's concern either. 

A knock is heard against your office door. "Miss _____?" A girl with a brown bob cut pokes her head through it, the dim lights of your office shining upon her incredibly healthy locks. "Jungkook asked me to deliver this to you" sliding completely into the room, she places a box with a note on it on your desk.

"Thank you so much" you wave her off as she walks right out. 

The package had a strawberry flavored canned tea and a bento box inside. 

"I remember you telling me you'd never tried tofu pancakes before, so I made some for you last night. Hope you enjoy! - JK

P.S. Text me when you're done, maybe we can hang out tonight."

You felt like crying, in all honesty. The pancakes were heavenly, and he even added some slices of avocado and a few scoops of rice for you, despite not being the biggest fan of the fruit himself. With a warm heart and relief washing over your body because you wouldn't have to waste money on lunch that day, you had had half of your meal before said boy gave you a call.

"Did you like them?" He said almost immediately. "My assistant told me she already delivered them to you" he adds in a rush.

"Jesus boy, calm down." You giggle at his excitement. "Let me eat in peace".

"No, tell me right now." he demands with a fake angry voice. Cutie.

"They're alright".

"Figured… you have no sense of taste anyways" the hangs up. A giggle escapes your lips. Boy was something else.

Later that day, the weekend started it's course. Jungkook had offered to drive you to the Han River, careful to mention the fact he prepared a bunch of snacks for you two just about five times during your call. The place was almost empty, given that the rest of the city was doing something else more fun than staring at the night sky while sitting on itchy grass. Yet, you wouldn't change the setting for anything else. Usually, when you and Jungkook were out, he'd be in silent wary of your surroundings and the people who could be watching you. It broke your heart, knowing that most of the time he couldn't frequent places most regular people had the pleasure of enjoying, like the movies, for example, or a food stand in the middle of the street. Still, in that moment, the handsome man in front of you seemed as relaxed as ever, munching on grapes and strawberries as he sat in silence beside you. 

"This blanket is so soft, isn't it?" he commented all of a sudden, caressing the fabric with his hand. The thing was made out of polar fleece, no shit. You just nodded and grabbed a piece of fruit from his container. "One of my friends gifted it to me on my birthday" he adds.

"I know. It was me".

"Well, maybe you do have a sense of taste after all" he complies as he lays down on the surface, eyes facing the night sky above you.

"Says the one who uses toe socks" you say back, poking his weak spot.

Instead of going back and forth with you as he usually would, he just winks and closes his eyes. He looked so peaceful and serene beneath you, features carefully carved on his face and slightly blushed cheeks from the cold wind. Jungkook was like that, randomly over confident and flirty with you, but just as quickly would refrain from even disagreeing with you in the first place, scared that you would snap at him. He hadn't told you this, but the way you saw thoughts hidden in his eyes whenever you made a statement let you know his true intentions, leaving you to wonder where that came from.

"Are you tired?" You ask after a few minutes. Still with his eyes closed, Jungkook denies.

"I just don't want to look at you right now," he turns to the side, back facing you as an offended expression finds its way to your face.

"Yah" you slap his back playfully, not letting him finish.

"Because you look too pretty." he mumbles the remnants of  his statement.

Your breath catches in your throat as a shiver climbs its way down your spine. Why was he like that? He had no right tugging on your heart strings like that (if he was being serious in the first place because you never knew with him). You sigh, the blush his words provoked stinging your cheeks.

"You're supposed to say I'm pretty too" he turns around with a playful smile, expectant.

"You just go around giving compliments so you can get them back?" you hiss. "Why so insecure?"

"I'm not insecure, at all." He sits up again, ready to fight you and anyone who dares question the grandiosity of the confidence he had worked so hard for. "You can ask Linh about that".

To say you looked horrified was an understatement, hopeful that what you thought he meant was not it. "You fucked Linh?"

"Well, that's not for you to know". 

What a gentleman, you think. And at the same time, ouch. He had just slammed a door on your face.

"That would explain the way she looks at you whenever you come by the office" you realize. Frankly, the girl looked a bit too panicked whenever Jungkook decided to barge into your space, usually bored out of his mind during his english lessons, laptop and notebook in hand, or struggling to get the questions right. 

"Well good afternoon to you too" you ironically greeted once he sat in front of you, frustration written on his face. Linh, who stood by your side, suddenly fidgeting with the papers in her hand.

"Not the time, _____" he slammed both hands on your desk, startling you and your friend beside you. "Why the fuck did you make me enroll into this in the first place?" 

"I did not make you do anything, dude. I just gave you an idea" you excused yourself, eyes back on your computer. You didn't miss the way Jungkook's eyes briefly followed Linh out the room, though. 

His eyes looked back at you, leg bouncing impatiently on the floor as he leaned back with a pissed off expression on his face. You'd never seen him this way, so you took that as a cue to enter under paid therapist mode. "What's wrong?" You questioned gently.

"I feel incredibly incompetent right now." His hands roamed across his face with frustration. A sigh escaped his lips as he held tears back. "School's always been this way for me, always trying my best and constantly underachieving" he explained.

He was obsessed with winning, you’d even go as far to say more than he was with his job (which was a lot). It didn’t root from narcissistic behaviour though, but rather out of external pressure to constantly overachieve and exceed expectations. He was mostly good at doing that, but everyone had an achilles heel, yours was reading for example, his was studying and school.

"Jungkook, you passed most of your classes with more than 90%, what are you talking about?" a fact he had brought up to you randomly when you mentioned absolutely nearly failing most of your literature classes.

"Yeah, except for English." he shook his head in the way he would when he'd feel conflicted or insecure. "I don't know what i'm doing wrong".

"Did you fail something?" you tried to get some more insight into the situation, still unsure of where all his worries came from.

"No, there's just this sentence I can't properly put together" he turned his notebook towards you. "Ah, just look"

There were some words he had to conjugate and properly place in order to form a grammatically correct sentence, more than five attempts written in neat penmanship on the page evidenced the boy's battle with the assignment. He missed one very important aspect of it, though. "There's a fucking word that's missing, dude" you explain, grabbing the pen from his hand and showing him where the mistake was. "It's not your fault, it's the teacher's".

Jungkook's serious expression didn't go away though. "Well, damn".

You had some sort of emotional trauma with having people ask you for help, it made you think that they didn’t actually care for you as a person but rather just your skills. That was the way you’d grown up and what your position in society seemed to be as well, the one you could butter up and taste when you got bored. Heart had been broken many times too, whenever you’d realize what you thought to be a genuine connection was merely pure interest. Those thoughts clouded your head when Jungkook would randomly enter your office with a frustrated expression on his face, yet, that occurred less often than it didn’t. 

Jungkook was not someone to establish relationships and bonds out of interest, you knew that. Or maybe not, truth be told, he was an authentic enigma, so open yet so closed and shielded from others to see through, and that didn’t exclude you most of the time, hence your wish for him to let you in a bit more before you could allow yourself to free fall into whatever was going on between you both.

You reach for the fabric of his hoodie, tugging his sleeve with your fingers just because you really liked the color of it, and maybe because you wanted to feel closer to him. He doesn’t react to your touch, just looks at your hands briefly as they play with the edges of his clothing. “Where did you get this from?”

“An online store, I think.” he replies softly, reaching for your hand on his arm, caressing the surface of your nails. “It’s a unisex brand, i can send you their link afterwards.”

“Is it too expensive?” you inquire, not only to keep the moment afloat, but because you genuinely liked most of his pieces of clothing, especially his hoodies and shoes. Jungkook laughs at your question and looks at you with a smile.

“I don’t think i would know, ____. I’m rich.” he says, playfully. And he was right, what was expensive for you might just be cheap as fuck for him, you wonder if when a lot of money is in your hands you start to become very tuned out from what’s affordable or not anymore.

“True.”

“I can buy you one, though. I don’t mind.” he adds. Soft look in his eyes, a pure and genuine offer that you had to deny.

“I didn’t say i wanted one” you lie, only partially, because although you’d not mentioned it, you did actually want it. “I just think it’s pretty” you finally let go of him.

“Or do you think I look pretty in it?” he pushes, a sucker for compliments.

“Yeah, that might be it.” you admit, because there was no point in denying your irrefutable attraction to the man, as much as you hated to be vulnerable, especially in front of him.

“I think it would look prettier on you”.

Don´t copy or repost please. by studiojeon on tumblr.

[baku-bowl]

broke 1,000 followers (the fuck? I don't even make content people), so decided to write up a list of some (but not all, I'll make other lists later) of my favorite Bakugou-centric fic recs. my tastes run towards hurt/comfort, as you'll probably figure from the list. if there are some Baku-centric fics that you've enjoyed that aren't on here, please add them - this is definitely not a complete list of the ones I've read and love, but I'm always up for some recs. <3

fair warning, most of these are wips.

------------------------------------------------

Social Media 101 by WindsChild8178

Part 1: Survival Guide to Fucking Up

[Solely Bakugou’s point of view]

Katsuki Bakugou doesn’t have a gentle bone in his body. He’s aggressive in everything he does and does everything with 100% of his heart in it. After the Sport’s Festival, Katsuki starts to get harassed by strangers for his unheroic demeanor. It starts with letters but it doesn’t end there. The moment Katsuki realizes the harassment has entered dangerous territory and he needs to tell someone, it’s already too late.

Part 2: Post Traumatic Life Disorder

[Point of View opens up to Bakugou, teachers and classmates]

When the Dorms are finally built, everyone is settling in well, but things become tense as people begin to realize something isn’t right with the recently rescued Bakugou.

[Cannon compliant right up to after the License Exam]

hands down my favorite fic in the fandom right now. it’s the one that converted me into a Bakugou lover. if you have any fondness for Bakugou as a character then it’s likely you’ve read this one already, but if not, I can’t recommend it enough. incredibly depressing, but with the hope that comfort is coming soon in the next few chapters.

The Kids Will Be Alright, Eventually by NotWithThatAttitude

Bakugou is spiraling in the aftermath of Kamino and his friends are starting to notice. He's stubborn, aggressively independent, and less than willing to dig into his past, but after a breakdown that ends with a painful secret revealed, he starts to get help.

Whether he likes it or not.

Meanwhile, a new kind of villain threatens an uneasy peace following the loss of Allmight. Whispers build as a new narrative slowly takes shape:

Hero society needs to change.

Feat. Therapy, Dadzawa, best boy Kirishima, dysfunctional families, healing, growing up, and the mortifying ordeal of being known

guys.. the medical accuracy of this fic is just... *chef’s kiss*

I rarely see mental health genuinely handled well in fics, but this one goes above and beyond. kudos to the author for doing such excellent research into psychology, and making the application of it in here not-boring. also, while this one does have abusive!Mitsuki, it’s done in a way that feels realistic, and how I usually will see it occur in real life, rather than just for the hurt/comfort feels.

fair warning, the fic can be incredibly triggering (themes of severe depression, PTSD, panic attacks, rape survival, abuse survival, suicidal ideation/attempted suicide, among other things), so be safe and heed the tw’s if you decide to read. legitimately one of my Top Favorite fics in this fandom.

Lock and Key by autochorystalize

Bakugou made a choked, gravelly noise before croaking out a low, “You can’t be serious.” His fingers ached to blow up everything in the room.

“I’m sorry, young man, but you can’t change reality! This sometimes happens.” Recovery Girl clicked through his file, adding a new symbol in a previously empty slot.

- - -

A pair of eyes discreetly locked on to an explosive blond plowing his way forward, parting people in his path. He recognized the kid, of course. Anyone in the underbelly of society would recognize him, after the publicity of both UA’s Sports Festival and the events leading up to All Might’s fall. The uniform he was wearing cast away any doubts about the young man’s identity.

It was a bit of a surprise that the little firecracker presented as an omega.

- - - - - - - - -

Or: there are certain types of evil that seemed too distant, archaic violations and perversions that would never actually threaten bright-eyed heroes-in-training in the clean, modern world...but sometimes those evils aren't as distant as one might think.

remember when I said that I love a/b/o fics that are full of plot and world-building and gender-induced tension? that’s this one. the OC’s are fabulous and you love to hate ‘em. also, it’s the fic that made me fall head-over-heels for the TodoBaku dynamic, so it’s got a special place in my cold, dead heart. 

be warned, there are rather explicit non-con scenes between an adult (OC) and a minor (Bakugou) in this one, but the author warns for them in advance, and you could likely skip those parts without missing too much if you need to.

Never and Always, Eventually by Wawa_Boonliang

"Katsuki can remember the exact moment that he and Deku…that he and Midoriya Izuku became friends. He can also remember the moment he and Izuku became fierce rivals, a time when they were almost enemies.

However, what he remembers most clearly about their relationship is the moment that they moved passed rivals and became something more close than mere friends. Something more like brotherhood, something forged in fire and secured in the middle of a battlefield or in the midst of natural disaster where the number of the dead was climbing ever higher. And then it was torn from him."

Katsuki is given a second chance. A chance to save everyone. A chance to change everything.

But should he?

y’all. I’m a slutty, slutty whore for time travel fics. a time travel fic with autistic!coded Bakugou? it was love at first read.

Lessons Learned by Sif (Rosae)

Rather than the police station, Katsuki's friends bring him to a hospital after rescuing him from the villains. His wounds were minor, but it didn't make having them treated any less important. As it would so happen, Best Jeanist was also brought to this hospital after the attack.

Sometimes, small choices have a big impact on how a story plays out.

classic Bakugou hurt/comfort. this fic opened me up to the potential that could be a genuinely good Best Jeanist & Katsuki mentor-mentee relationship, and I kind of dig it and search ravenously for it in other fics now. I’m also a huge fan of the behind-the-scences Pro Hero Chat group.

Slope by sunfleurmoon

“I’m not a hero. Or a good person,” Katsuki says, giving Aizawa a pointed look, “So leave me alone. I don’t care about the League or UA, or you—” The two years he’s been away have been fine, more than fine, fucking fantastic actually if you ignore the bi-monthly near-death experiences. He doesn’t need this place. He doesn’t miss this place.

And yet, longing, a childish desire to tear up, or maybe blow something to bits, they all twist in his chest like a band of traitors regardless. “—I just want to go home.”

Or: the one where Katsuki and Izuku fail the first term exam, Aizawa discovers their pasts, and Katsuki is booted from UA. Featuring questionable descriptions of villain organizations, a slightly illegal moving shop, and your favorite emotionally constipated badass in distress with a newly discovered penchant for collecting strays.

paaaaaaiiiiiiiin. the hurt is ALIVE in this one. lots of tortured, angsty exploding child goodness. the OC’s are excellently crafted, and the Bakugou & Eri relationship? beautiful. definitely deserves a read.

Ground Zero by WindsChild8178

In the wake of Kamino, Katsuki is tested more than anyone could imagine. Bound by a villain’s quirk to keep his silence or die, he lives each day knowing it might very well be his last. He continues to work towards becoming a hero, keeping his secret from his classmates and teachers, focusing on making it through each day and trying not to allow the panic or depression to get the best of him. When the villain finally corners him with demands in exchange for his life, there is really only one answer Katsuki Bakugou can give.

honestly don't know which I want updated more - social media 101 or ground zero. this author's fics are amazing, and I really wasn't expecting the twist in this one. can't wait for windschild to come back to this fic some day.

The Defect by LadyGreenFrisbee

"Why do you want to win the Sports Festival so badly?" 

Because I want to see if the defect could usurp the masterpiece.

(In which Endeavor holds a terrible secret and Bakugo has to suffer since childhood for it.)

a great concept, and I adore the shouto and Katsuki sibling interaction here. hoping the author will come back to this one some day.

A Name That You'll Remember by Heronfem

Kirishima Eijirou is a Hero. Bakugou Katsuki... is not. Trapped in his toxic workplace and increasingly desperate to get out, Red Riot's days are only brightened by a new villain known as Caution, who's not exactly villainous and keeps accidentally doing good deeds. But when a real villain appears, a threat from the past that demands that Red Riot make the ultimate sacrifice to keep the public safe, Bakugou is forced into saving the day... and eventually, Red Riot himself.

sob story good guy villains are my weakness, this fic is a gem, and I'd kill for the sequel.

Our Hero by AnonymousTwit

He felt everything jerk to the side and throw his balance off before he saw anything, dust clouding his vision and irritating his lungs as the earth itself opened up to swallow them whole. For a single moment, in a millisecond's time, his wild eyes locked with Raccoon Eyes', hers alight with fear and adrenaline-fueled desperation. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that it was the first time she'd looked at him with something other than long-deserved hatred in days.

And then he was free falling.

Or

After a particularly nasty encounter between childhood friends, the class learns about Bakugou and Midoriya's dark history and practically ostracizes Bakugou while trying to defend Midoriya. An earthquake during an outing has all sides regretting their decisions.

just fucking tear apart my self-sacrificing faves in every way imaginable while their loved ones watch on in terror. 💖🥰💖 this one is heavy on the Bakusquad and Class-1A feels, and VERY heavy on the Mina & Bakugou relationship (platonic).

Running back the tape, watching it replay by Faralyne

For someone ripped from their time, ripped from the few but strong relationships built by time and personal development, by self-reflection and swallowed pride, ripped from the one thing that made him feel worthwhile and needed and put-together, and forced to forge everything over again—Katsuki thinks he is handling it pretty fucking well.

Or

A villain’s quirk sends a 29-year-old Bakugou back in time to his middle school days.

am I a sucker for time travel? yes. am I a sucker for vigilante!bakugou? also yes. am I a sucker for this fic? literally refreshing the page in wait for an update as we speak.

Liability by sandelf

After All-Might dies rescuing Bakugou from the League, Bakugou is determined to prove it wasn't for nothing.

But the world is against him, his grief is overwhelming, and his stability is splitting at the edges.

very self-indulgent bakugou angst. tw for harassment, severe depression, and suicidality.

Special Mentions:

How To Win The Sport Festival: A Step By Step Guide by mhwright

Short re-imagining of the Sports Festival Arc if Shinso had planned a little better and worked a little harder to win the Sports Festival and if the match-ups had been slightly different. Self-indulgent fic of watching him succeed.

this is completely Shinsou-centric, not Bakugou-centric, but I love and adore it and am dying for a sequel. Shinsou is Best Boy here and you'll be rooting for him the whole time.

[kim-miri]

HALF(have a little fun) pt. ix

→ one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight

→ Sayomi Zoldyck is the eldest child and twin sister to Illumi, of the renowned Zoldyck family of assassins. At the age of ten she’s taken away to Meteor City by her mother, Kikyo Zoldyck, unbeknownst to the rest of the family, as well as newborn Killua, and left to fend for herself. This is the story of the long-lost Zoldyck and those she becomes acquainted with, all while she just wants to have a little fun.

» part nine / ?

» pairing: eventually - chrollo x oc x feat. hisoka

» warnings: swearing, blood/violence, minor angst

» a/n: short chapter D:! edit: i’ve tried and tried but it just doesn’t flow right when i try to make this into an x reader:// HALF will be an oc fic and i’ve decided to cut the backstory here;( thanks for the love and support!

» word count: 2,494

☾ix. pt. ix: youth

3 months later

Loud, bass-bumping music and too many flashing lights fueled the exhilaration and excitement of one of the biggest night clubs in Yorknew City.

Sayomi had defeated her second opponent on the 200th floor with the help of Hisoka’s training earlier today, making this little outing a sad excuse for a celebration.

In reality, Hisoka just wanted to see whether Sayomi could dance or not.

He had insisted they go out and experience the nightlife the city had to offer, and with Sayomi still upbeat from her match, they found themselves sneaking into Octagon- a hip club located in the heart of Yorknew City.

Though technically Hisoka was 21 and therefore could have gone about this in an easier way, he insisted they sneak in ‘just for the fun of it’. The truth was that he’d been kicked out of the club previously after using his ‘magic tricks’ to make people’s arms disappear, but it made his intrusion all the more fun.

As Hisoka watched the floor from his spot at the bar with a drink held loosely in one hand, Sayomi was currently lost in a crowd of passionate clubbers, her violet eyes gleaming with the thrill of the environment.

The black and silver dress she wore highlighted her figure as well as electrifying eyes and hair, the metallic material dazzling under the club lights as she lost herself in the music and people.

She was letting herself go for the night like she often did on her chaotic trips to the city with Hisoka. Free from repressive parents or a fight for her life, Sayomi was at peace with her new life, expressing herself however she wanted to.

Draining the rest of his Cosmopolitan, Hisoka’s eyes shifted to the young assassin, his face remaining expressionless as he watched her draw a crowd with her alluring glow. 

He’d been staring so intensely he didn’t even notice a man take the seat next to him. The sound of the man’s voice established his presence, yet Hisoka’s line of sight ceased to drift from the girl with the bright silver hair.

“A stunner isn’t she?”

Hisoka blinked slowly, hardly registering the man’s words. A stunner indeed, but what more? “A pretty face doesn’t mean a pretty soul.”

The man laughed, setting his drink down on the bar to face Hisoka. “I take it she isn’t yours then? That’s a relief.”

Hisoka rested his chin in the palm of one of his finely manicured hands, his other tapping on the smooth surface of the bar impatiently. He couldn’t seem to figure out why his bloodlust was seeping through as he followed Sayomi with his eyes.

His? She could never belong to any man, she was her own person.

“Careful with your words there, I’d hate for them to be your last.” His words were venomous, filled with the intent to kill.

Hisoka’s nails had cut through the skin of his own cheek, his other hand clenched into a fist on the bar’s surface.

The man had shifted away from him, quietly taking his leave as he watched crimson seep down Hisoka’s pale fingers.

Over the past 3 months, he’d been able to fight her more than enough times, and now he no longer felt the same intoxicating feeling when he was with her. Sayomi never fought Hisoka to hurt him, only with the intentions of improving her own skills, which in turn left Hisoka aching for more.

However, as the days progressed he was slowly coming to the conclusion that the Zoldyck girl had an undeniable flaw. She doesn’t put up a fight when I’m with her.

He was losing interest in the girl who’d once swayed his unshakable feelings, and it distressed him that he almost felt bad for wanting to leave her behind.

His sharpened fingernails dug farther into the pale skin of his cheek as he watched Sayomi throw her slender arms around a man she’d only just met. 

She was laughing and smiling, her silky voice seeming to reach his ears through the music and cheers from where he sat. Loud and clear, the sound of her laughter rang through Hisoka’s head in an almost painful way.

She was becoming a weakness to the man who believed himself to be the strongest, and that didn’t sit right with him at all.

☾ix.

Sayomi wasn’t too sure of what exactly it was that she felt towards Hisoka.

When he took her to dinner with an amazing view or complimented her progress with training, she couldn’t tell whether it was her lack of social contact or actual feelings that led her heart to race when she saw his face.

It didn’t help that on some days she could notice the way his voice softened when he spoke to her, only to leave her heart stinging with his harsh words on other days.

He was taking mixed signals to the next level, playing with her feelings while he was trying to figure out his own.

It was selfish and cruel, falsely gaining the trust of someone who’d been through so much betrayal, all for his own entertainment.

But that was just who Hisoka was, he didn’t care for distractions or hindrances. And as fast as he’d first fallen for the young assassin, he was already in the process of making himself forget her.

He was moving on.

☾ix.

3 months later

It was the day after Sayomi’s 7th match on the 200th floor of Heaven’s Arena. She’d been scheduling her fights randomly, with no regard for who her opponents would be.

With 7 wins under her name, she only needed 3 more to challenge a floor master. 

However, with her longtime goal fast approaching, she wasn’t as happy as she thought she’d be.

It’d been about half a year since Sayomi had first met Hisoka, and all the excitement and jitters about spending time alone with a guy had died down. 

It’d also helped that for some reason Hisoka was rather occupied recently. He rarely took her out to the city, claiming he had other business to attend to, and when they did go out, he’d always turn in first mumbling that he was tired.

Sayomi was no fool, she knew that Hisoka was either losing interest in her as well or felt his job was almost through. To herself, she hoped that it was the former, for it would hurt less than to find out he’d only been around her for business purposes.

Regardless, Sayomi’s current situation was puzzling. She stood waiting for what seemed like forever in front of Hisoka’s room, ready to go out and train.

However, after knocking more than enough times and even calling his cell, there was no sign of her trainer. 

That’s odd.

Sayomi trained on her own that day, taking it upon herself to get strength training in at the gym.

It was the first time she’d spent an entire day without Hisoka since they’d started training. Deciding that he was out on his so-called ‘business’, Sayomi shrugged away his absence, going to sleep early for the first time in a while.

Yet, another day passed with no sign of the magician, and Sayomi began to grow concerned for his well-being. What if he was picked off by someone? No, he’s too strong to lose to anyone here… Did he pass out in his room?

Sayomi walked briskly to Hisoka’s room with a worried mind.

Once again there was no response to her knocking, and she decided she’d break into the room.

Using one of her longer needles, she picked the lock in no time, stepping into the unfamiliar room. 

It was empty. Only the faint smell of bubble gum and something sweet lingered in the abandoned room, the closet and space empty.

There was a note left on the cleanly made bed, the red ink standing out from the otherwise white sheets surrounding the note.

That lazy ass, of course he’d leave a note in his own room. 

Picking up the sheet, she read:

Zoldyck-

It’s about time you sneak into my room, I know you’ve thought about doing it before;) 

But jokes aside… 

I’m sorry, darling. 

It’s not like me to apologize(you can ask Kite)and that alone scared me, because I feel like you’ve changed me. Your smile and intoxicating eyes make me weak in the knees…

And I despise myself for it. 

I’m not sure why I’ve chosen to expose my faults to you, for that just makes you all the more dangerous to me.

But perhaps I want you to hold my weaknesses, and perhaps I’d like to see you come tear me apart. Yes, that must be it. 

I’ve departed Yorknew City to meet up with your twin brother, as it seems as though he’s been searching for you. And perhaps I should have taken him to you instead, but I’m not, because when the time is right I’d like you all to myself.

So don’t forgive me, Sayomi. Resent me, grow stronger, and when the time comes I’ll bring your brother back to you.

Ah, and there is one thing I’d always wanted to tell you… 

I always thought that you were most beautiful when you showed your true colors-

A cold-blooded, cold-hearted Zoldyck assassin with no regard for the pain and suffering of your victims.

Stop holding yourself back, people like us can be forgiven for our sins because of the hell we’ve been put through. 

-Hisoka 

☾ix.

A single tear rolled down Sayomi’s cheek. 

And that was all.

The flurry of sudden information rendered Sayomi breathless as she tried to make sense of his words.

This idiot really just admitted his feelings for me after all this time right when he decides to leave me here. Selfish bastard.

And he knows Illumi… but how? Illumi was looking for me? 

I have to become a floor master and get that clown to bring my brother back.

☾ix.

6 months later

Sayomi gazed out her window with a blank stare, 241 floors above the ground.

Just a week ago she’d claimed her spot on the 241st floor as the newest and youngest Floor Master at age 19.

She knew Hisoka would find out about her achievement soon, and all she could do now was wait.

Up until defeating and killing her last opponent, time had flown by easily. She was fueled by the goal of finding her brother and confronting Hisoka, but now that she was here, the loneliness began to sink in.

Kite and his student had taken off to another country in search of wildlife to study, leaving Sayomi all alone in Yorknew City.

She couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of her situation. Here she was at the top of the tallest building in Yorknew City, a place that others died trying to get to, yet she was unsatisfied.

Her face and name were plastered on billboards and posters all throughout the city, and citizens stood envious of the young teen’s life. She had enough money that she’d never have to work another day in her life, but in exchange she no longer had a family to accept her nor friends to laugh with.

Don’t feel sorry for yourself, there’s plenty of others that have it worse.

Sayomi sighed as she turned away from the window, grabbing her mask she’d started using as a floor master to attempt to conceal her identity. 

I won’t have challengers for another month or so… might as well hit the city.

☾ix.

Sayomi walked through the dark streets of Yorknew City, her hands clasped behind her head and her eyes vacant.

She didn’t have a destination in mind, just mindlessly strolling through the city covered with news of her promotion to Floor Master. There were citizens recognizing her as well, pointing and jumping back as if she were some monster.

Though she couldn’t blame them, as her nen happened to be on the disturbing side. The replays of her fights were mostly censored, deemed too inhumane for the public eye as they played on repeat on the sides of buildings,

She wasn’t too sure how far she’d walked, spotting Heaven’s Arena rather far in the distance behind her. The shops and glamorous hotels began to fade as she approached the run down parts of Yorknew City.

It was an abandoned lot of buildings, the ground littered with oil cans and shattered glass. In a way it was tranquil, free from angry drivers and the revolted gaze of commoners.

Walking through an opening in the wired fences that surrounded the lot, Sayomi wandered through a certain building that’d caught her eye.

She felt a faint aura coming from the abandoned office building, but oddly enough it wasn’t hostile or repelling. It was rather comforting.

Sayomi’s curiosity grew as the aura increased, drawing her towards the room located at the far end of the first floor.

She saw the man before she sensed him, his large coat catching her attention. His back was turned to her crouched down on the dusty floor, the windows adjacent to him shattered, letting the pale moonlight reflect off of his coat.

St. Peter’s cross. Interesting taste in fashion…

Another careless step closer and the man’s head turned abruptly in her direction. Sayomi had ducked behind a wall, but not fast enough.

The man stood from his spot, revealing a vibrant patch of violets by his feet. Upon his loss in concentration, the flowers wilted, withering back into the cluttered floor as if they’d never been there in the first place.

Sayomi could see the man’s face from where she crouched, hidden by a barely intact wall. Her heart skipped a beat upon meeting his eyes, deep gray and captivating as he easily identified her from her hiding spot.

It felt as if time was frozen in place, the young man staring intensely into Sayomi’s eyes as if he could read her mind. 

Sayomi was unmoving as well, having been caught examining his figure from behind the wall. He was by far the most appealing man she’d ever seen, his dark, raven hair slicked back to reveal a tattoo decorating the middle of his forehead, contrasting with his gentle eyes and youthful facial features. 

Handsome, she thought. 

The man took a slight step forward, snapping Sayomi out of his hypnotizing gaze as she sped off jumping through an empty window and out of the building. 

Though she was eager to know what he’d been doing with the flowers, his aura had changed when he’d noticed her watching. It had been dangerous and intense, a total opposite of his warm and placid one when dealing with the violets.

Her quick steps transitioned into a run, feeling the need to distance herself from the lingering intensity of the mysterious young man’s aura.

She ran back towards the towering building of Heaven’s Arena, not stopping her pace a bit until she was met with the familiar neon signs and billboards that surrounded the heart of Yorknew City.

Her dreams were taken over by the man’s captivating eyes that night. His familiar aura had seemed to beckon her to him, as if she’d known him for 100 years prior. 

But no matter how hard she thought that night, she couldn’t come up with an answer as to what he’d been doing with the violets conjured by his feet. 

In her dreams she saw her own eyes within the vibrant flowers, it was an abstract thought, though for a second she wondered if he had meant for her to see them. 

She quickly dismissed this, however, scoffing at the absurdity of her own thoughts. 

What am I, a child? I must be beyond lonely if I think some random guy has something to do with me.

Though deep down inside her heart, she wished it were true. To be fated to somebody, needed by somebody who she could trust with her darkest secrets and love.

☾ix.

to be continued.

[your-rose-highness]

Tell me What is Love (ch- 11)

Pairing- Baekhyun x OC (special appearance- JB of GOT7)

Chapter 11

"Whatever it may be, I'm not letting you take my daughter away. The world doesn't always revolve around you, Taeyeon. Sarang is my life and she's the only reason I'm still talking to you calmly. I won't have you play games with my daughter." Baekhyun snarled at her.

"How are you going to take care of her?", She demanded.

"When did you ever take care of her? Do you call leaving your child with random people as you go out to parties taking care of her? People already know you have a daughter then why pretend? Have you ever cooked her a meal? Cmon Tae, we'll be here all night if I begin listing your history..", he scoffed as he glared at her.

"What do you want?", Taeyeon asked, folding her hands across her chest.

"I want equal rights. I want to be able to see my daughter whenever I wish to and any decisions about her will be done mutually. If you ever do them on your own accord, I'll press charges.", Baekhyun began stating. Taeyeon sported her signature poker face that he had found so endearing years ago. Now, it seemed lifeless and terrifying.

"Fine.", She blankly said after pondering over his words for a minute, leaving him seated in the living room.

She picked up Sarang from her playroom, to put her to sleep. Baekhyun watched her move and smiled when Sarang waved both her hands at him as she was being carried away to her room. He sighed deeply in the empty room and scrolled through the texts on his phone. His headache that persisted its way through a week was giving him a dull throb. Oh, how he missed his mother’s kimchi stew- but she was too far away. He picked up his phone again, unconsciously hovering over Hye hee’s contact, somehow he couldn't get himself to dial her number. Exhausted with the overly long day, he resorted to bed, her voice in his head being a lullaby.

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Hye Hee woke up feeling anxious. She went through her phone for any important calls, her work calendar for any missed work meetings, replayed her phone conversations with Jaebeom the past night for clues, but alas. Feeling uneasy, she dragged herself through the day wondering what had triggered her anxiety suddenly. That morning she decided to skip going to work with jaebeom and decided to get her favorite drink- pomegranate tea, or specifically, Minseok’s pomegranate tea. The other cafes just never got it right up her alley. The familiar beaming smile greeted her as she entered the tiny cafe.

“Well, hello, look who’s here this fine morning. I thought you’ll never be back after this new job.”, Minseok chimed in, smiling ear to ear.

“You wish, Minseok. You’re never getting rid of me.”, she answered in a gleeful voice, walking to her favorite spot, which, thank god, was empty even though the cafe was a little busier than she had seen before.

It was only natural for him to know what she would have and quickly strode to her with the pink tea (extra-large, only for special customers), taking the seat opposite hers.

“The cafe has grown.”, she scanned taking a sip.

“Yeah. there are a few more regulars now. Not as regular as you were, but you know, weekends, a few weekdays, some come in for the morning coffees, it’s doing well for now. God knows I needed this, with you gone, I’d have to shut this down.”, he laughed.

“Oh shut up, I told you, it’ll only be a while until women find how good food here tastes and hello”, she paused, waving her hands at him, “the handsome barista.” Minseok rolled his eyes at her and she continued, “cmon! I told you, all women have had this ‘hot barista’ scenario in their head, and you are a clear manifestation… even now those college girls there are wondering and cursing me under their breath.”

Minseok swiftly looked at them, at which they quickly turned away from him.

“Stop it. Don't make this awkward for me.”

“Alright. Spill the tea, sir. What’s been going on?”, she asked, taking a sip.

“You tell me. What the hell happened after all those sasaengs at your door? Does Baekhyun know?”

"He's just… I don't know what he's up to… he shows up at my apartment unannounced one minute and then suddenly he's off the radar, no calls, no texts, calls don't go through to him… I'm confused.", She sighed.

"Do you still love him?", Minseok asks, tilting his head in pity.

"Don't be silly, he's married…"

Minseok shrugged his shoulders in response, "Doesn't change feelings…"

"I'm dating, though." She said, almost proud.

Eyes growing bigger, Minseok chuckled, "oh? You are! And didn't tell me? Must say, I'm a little hurt."

"It's Jane's brother.", She whispered coming closer to him.

"What the hell went on in these few months that you didn't come to the cafe? And, Jane had a brother?"

"Jaebeom, and yes. I have a picture."

Minseok looked at it blankly, "Is this a new coping mechanism?"

"What?"

"Do you love him?"

"Cmon Minseok, we've hardly dated for two months. Press the brakes, will you?", She scoffed.

"Alright. Alright. I got it. I'm happy for you." He muttered in an unbothered tone.

Hye hee stared at him at a loss of words.

"Wow do men just react this way or am I missing something?"

He laughed at her expression, "I just hope you don't hurt yourself."

"Hey, you were the one preaching, asking me to move on from Baekhyun a year ago…", she whimpered. " And now when I'm dating this amazing guy, suddenly you're being unsupportive."

"I'm not being unsupportive. I'm just concerned. I'm happy for you, Hye hee."

"No. You're not.", She picked up the tea and left without saying goodbye to Minseok. A rather rare feat. Minseok had always been a safe space for her to open up. They never argued, occasionally getting on each others' nerves for like one hour, that seemed way too long for them.

She reaches office 10 minutes later than expected and her supervisor shot her the 'you're late again this week' look regardless of her never being late. Finding Jaebeom's seat empty, she scanned the office floor for him. It was so hard to lose him with the long hair now, he stuck out as the odd, mysteriously handsome guy at the office (or that's what she felt). Standing with a few colleagues, he was hunched over his laptop in the corner. Feeling bolder than usual, she walked to the gathering, standing beside Jaebeom's chair pretending to look at what they were working on. 

"Morning guys, what is going on here.", She greeted. Taken aback by her voice, Jaebeom quickly turned in her direction, trying to stifle the smile. His eyes dropped to the summery dress she had worn that day to make herself feel better and his ears instantly grew red. It was so easy to read this man, Hye hee thought.

Pretending to look at the same edits on his screen, she playfully touched his neck, softly, wallowing in the victory that she could see him take a nervous gulp.

Successful in her little adventure, she left him explaining the edits, flustered by her actions. 

“I don't think it was appropriate what you did today, hye hee.”, Jaebeom said in his signature ‘i’m older than you’ voice.

“What do you mean?”, she laughed as they walked to his car.

“We should keep things professional when at work.”, he said blankly.

Stopping in her tracks she stared at him, making him stop as he tried to open the car door for her.

“I wasn't being unprofessional. We are dating, and no one even saw.”, she said hurt.

When he didn't reply, she continued, “and it won't be long before they find out that we’re going out.”

“Why do we have to tell at the office that we’re dating? I’d like to keep that part of my life private, don’t you want that?”

“I don't mind letting people know that we are a couple. There's no policy stating that employees can’t date each other. What are you so afraid about?”, she accused.

“Look, babe…”

“Don't ‘babe’ me if you're so embarrassed about dating me, Jaebeom.”

“See, now you're just getting upset. Let’s get in the car, it's quite chilly out here.”

Scoffing, she muttered, “either that or you’re worried that someone from the office will see us bickering.”

“I don't understand why the office needs to know! That’s it. Get in the car, hye hee.”

“What about that day in the coffee room? That didn't seem ‘professional’ to me at all.”

“There were the two of us in there.”, he explained.

hye hee shivered as a whiff of cold breeze hit her bare legs.

“You're cold. Please, get in.”, jaebeom half begged her.

“You go ahead. I have errands to run.”, she stiffly walked out.

Letting out a sigh, he held her hand, “hye hee, let me drop you home.”

“I have to get groceries, you go ahead. I need to see a friend too. Go home, it’s fine.”

Leaving him confused, Hye hee took the bus close to the cafe once again. It’s such a bad day, everyone was getting on her nerves. Standing out of the cafe, she watched Minseok being busy with orders. As the little doorbell tingled, announcing her arrival, Minseok sorrily looked at her, glad that she came back.

She stood at the counter watching him make the pineapple ade.

“Go sit down, I’ll be with you in a minute.”

“I’m checking the new additions to the menu.”

“Oh yeah, I think the blue chocolate is something up your alley.”, he smirked.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I didn't mean that. I’d not want you to move on Hye hee. The only reason I ask you is that you are still harboring feelings for him, and the worse thing is he does too.”

“How do you know?”, she asked, genuinely curious.

“He was here, two days ago. I recognize him now, cause he dresses up like a ghost…"

"What! No way. Baekhyun looks good in those black outfits. Have you seen him properly? He's gorgeous."

“He was here, looking for you, I suppose.”

“Why would he do that, he has my number and he knows where I live.”

“All i’m saying is, call him, will you?”

“I did! It doesn't go through him anymore. Maybe he changed his number.”

“The dude always looks like someone punched him in the alley….”

“I know what you mean… but, he’s happy.”, she assured herself more than minseok.

He gave her a half-hearted smile, while hye hee submerged herself into another round of guilt-tripping. Was she being a bad best friend? Yes, they dated. Yes, now he’s married and has an adorable daughter but that doesn't mean they needed to stop being friends. He was someone so precious to her.

She called him all the way home. Frustrated, she wanted to dial Suho’s number but after what happened that day, she was terrified. Suho had never seemed so scary. She scrolled to find Jongin’s number and hesitantly rang it up.

“Hello?”, a groggy voiced answered.

“Jongin? I’m hye hee, Baekhyun’s girl...I mean, friend. Do you remember me?”, she hoped he did.

“Hye hee?....”

The phone was snatched away from Jongin.

“hye hee? Are you alright?”, Baekhyun’s clear as a light voice came through.

“I am, dork. But where the hell are you? Why is your phone unavailable all the time?”, she half yelled into the phone.

“Umm... there has been a problem. I’ll… I’ll tell you when we meet. I’ll visit you soon.”

“I’m not at my old apartment. I live with Jane now.”, she explained, giving him her address.

“Are you unwell, Byun?”

Her voice made him smile, “Thank you for calling, Hye hee. I swear, I’m fine. I miss you and will see you soon. I don't know when. But ill come by.”

Talking to Baekhyun made her feel a thousand times better. Only one other problem was left- Jaebeom.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hi", a tired voice heard from the other end.

"Hello, Jaebeom.", She meekly replied.

"Didn't go to bed yet?"

"No. I'm not sleepy."

"Mind if I came over?"

"Now?", She peeped at the clock in the living room. It was 1.31 AM 

( author note: Aghase!!!!)

"Yeah. Let's just talk? I need to see you."

She had just gotten her make-up off an hour ago, and now was digging through her vanity adding some color. Jaebeom wouldn't have any trouble, of course, he would effortlessly look great. Contemplating, she decided to wear her new pajamas, keeping her eye on the clock ticking. She paced in the living room when her phone vibrated. Jaebeom.

"Hello.", She tried to say calmly.

"Hi, can you come downstairs?"

"You know the apartment code."

"Yes", she sensed a smile in his voice, "I think it's better if you'd come down, Hye hee."

He was always so mysterious. Treating her like a misbehaving child. Checking her appearance one last time, she skipped downstairs. There he was, coolly standing against his car, looking at his phone. It was a scene straight up from a drama.

He found her soon by the door and flashed a kind smile.

"Hey.", He softly said, looking into her eyes.

"You can come upstairs, you know."

"I thought it would be better if we met out here since you were quite a bit mad at me today."

Ugh, again the misbehaving child feeling.

"I'm sorry, I hurt your feelings.", He whispered.

"It's alright. I just felt you were ashamed of dating me."

"No. Cmon. I would never do that. Also, do you know how many guys at the office already have a crush on you? It's rare to have a cute writer in this job.", He chuckled.

He stretched out his arms a little later. Giving her the cutest look ever.

"Hug? I've missed you terribly in these few hours."

She smiled immediately and let herself embrace him. The warmth of his body, calmed her mind, with his arms wrapped around her. Her eyes closed to take at the moment. It was almost perfect. Almost. Something still seemed to bother her. The same thing that had woken up with her that morning. But she decided to shun it away and drown herself in Jaebeom for now.

"I think I'm falling in love with you.", She heard Jaebeom through his chest, where her head lay.

She looked up at him and met the most loving eyes. His eyes were always very expressive of how he had felt. Whether anger or love, Jaebeom's eyes would always give away. She tightened her grip on him, as though afraid this moment would give itself away soon.

His fingers slowly brushed her hair away from her face, softly stroking her cheek, before saying, "and I don't regret one bit."

Their lips met and it felt as though the world stood still. His lips hovered over hers softly before kissing her passionately. How soft his lips were, how lovely they felt against hers. He could taste her strawberry Chapstick and it only intensified what he felt for her. Hye hee feet his stubble on her cheek and she loved it. The two people in love, finding a home in each other’s embrace, their lips, trying to convey what words would fall short to define. In love. Love conquers all.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Baekhyun wondered how her voice always made everything seem less of trouble every time. Ever since Hye hee called looking for him, he found strength that he believed he had not in him any longer. Finishing work he drove home, only something wasn't right. He had to see her. He had to hear her voice. He smiled to himself that she was still the one in his heart. All this time, he was looking in the wrong places. He drove out of the garage, hopeful that she'd be awake at this ungodly hour. But nothing would have stopped him. Taking turns into small alleys, he finally found the street to Jane's building. Finding someone standing outside, he decided to call her first.

Ah, If only he knew that what he was to see would shred him into pieces. His fingers stopped midway when he saw her make her way out to meet this man. He nervously gulped sitting in the darkness, as the spectacle unfolded in front of him. Watching them and then kiss, left him agape. Baekhyun's heart pounded against his chest, and he didn't know why. A tear escaped him, and he felt a hollow build inside his chest, as though he was empty. His head told him he had to run, but his eyes were glued to the fire. 

His rational self snapped in and he quickly started the car to drive away. Vision getting blurry from stinging eyes full of tears, he felt anger bubbling inside him. How could she do that to him? After she knew what he had been going through? Hye hee was equally evil just like everyone else in his life. The next minute he left despair from the hollow in his chest, aching from the emptiness that she had left. 

 Don't we all hate it when our inner selves jump in to argue at times like these? A calm yet pitiful voice rose from within himself, trying to reason with him. All he wanted to feel pain and blame, but this calm voice sat next to him, unbothered of his suffering.

"She was never yours. She stopped being yours the minute she left crying."

-------

[hecticcheer]

This is ~2,000 words of fluff, inspired by late-night brain’s inadvertent mashup of this suggestion by boxofsfic with the ending of this story by sickiepop. (If either of you are seeing this post, hi! I love your work, and I hope you don’t mind what a monster I conceived while reading it…!)

The OCs I made up for the occasion are both around 30; the sick one’s a guy, and the other is nonbinary; they’re housemates; they might be in a QPR, but I don’t think they know that yet either.

I mmmmight write the sequel foreshadowed in the last few lines? Not sure yet; depends on whether I still like what I’ve written by tomorrow. But if you’re reading this and you’d dig that, please let me know!

—

Mr. Bartholomew Fox lay on his classroom’s hard, dusty floor, trying to remember how to pronounce respite. It had been a vocab word this week in some of his tenth graders’ books, but grading their worksheets had not required him to say the word aloud. He could remember that it wasn’t phonetic—it did not rhyme with despite, like its spelling suggested it should. But did one say the word as though it were spelled respeet? Reecepite? Resspit? The remembered voice of a friend from the days of his first smartphone reminded him, You have 3G; he fumbled for his phone, hoping the dictionary app would load this time deecepit the classroom’s shoddy cell service. When he lifted his phone, however, a text from Leverton distracted him.

You ok? At a meeting I forgot about or s/t?

Barty (he was Barty to friends, Mr. F among his less-creative students) hadn’t quite felt like himself all day, though he wasn’t sure what more than that to say about it. His joints and muscles ached, sure; his head throbbed for a bit after every movement, yeah; he’d been shaky and dizzy all day, true—but none of that was weird. He guessed these symptoms must be worse than usual, but no one of them seemed enough that way to justify what an unpleasant day he’d had. Or at least, none had done so until his final class ended, when struck the irresistible urge to lie down on the floor instead of heading home. On the floor, with nothing else to think about, they all seemed urgent. He felt so dizzy it made him hot all over, his upper lip prickling with sweat. If he moved in any way, and whenever he opened his eyes, the feeling grew worse. His left shoulder, right wrist, that mysterious place in his lower back, both knees, the muscles in his neck and thighs and forearms and halfway down his right calf—all traded off shouting for his attention. The throb behind his left eye grew sharper now, more electric, like the start of a migraine (but those usually came on earlier in the day). That side of his nose was clogged. Was he getting a cold? Not unlikely, this early in the school year. Or was it just allergy season.

He’d gone about this far in his musings and then apparently quit thinking at all until something (he could no longer remember what) had made him reach for his phone. Now, having read Leverton’s text, he laid the phone down on his chest and closed his eyes, trying to think how to reply. After he’d typed I’m okay, just and then lay still for a bit pondering how to make must’ve fallen asleep sound less dumb, another text arrived from Leverton:

Just send me an emoji or something so I know you’re not dead? You’re probably just at a meeting and I don’t want to bug you, but, starting to worry a little

I’m okay Barty sent back therefore, deleting the comma and the just. They’d both long-since turned off their phones’ “Read at 4:18 PM” feature—it made Leverton anxious, and incensed Barty on principle. Sending a quick reply took priority, therefore, over explaining himself. The little green progress bar hovered for eons about two thirds of its way across the screen, which it would never have dared at home unless he had tried to send multiple photos. Making sure not to touch the phone’s sides directly, even though he knew that made no difference on this non-dinosaur model, he wrote further, No meeting; fell asleep in classroom. Somehow that one went through at once—so quickly that he’d barely had time to close his eyes and set his head back down before it buzzed again.

Oh my god

Are you ok??? That sounds so unlike you

He didn’t know what to say. The first I’m okay hadn’t felt like a lie, since in that case it was clear he meant okay as opposed to dead. But now neither Yes or No seemed like the right answer. The long pause he elected to respond with instead probably treated Leverton worse than either one:

Are you still in your classroom? Stay there, I’ll come get you

I don’t knw [sic] if I’m comfortable w/ the thought of you driving like this.

On its face Barty found this absurd. Students fell asleep in his class nearly every time he turned on the projector, and that seemed a much greater feat than dozing off while lying alone on the floor. Besides, it hadn’t been real sleep—only stage one or two. If someone had asked whether he was awake he could have honestly said Yes, without startling first. Don’t, he began typing back, but once the initial guilt wore off he thought again about Leverton’s words (Stay there, I’ll come get you). The corners of his eyes grew hot when he pictured them setting out on foot to collect him. Leverton was right, after all—Barty never fell asleep during the day. He deleted the message he’d started and sent instead, Okay.

By the time he heard Leverton’s hand on the doorknob Barty had drifted back into early-stage sleep: close enough to the surface to recognize the sound, but far enough under that it surprised him a little. He’d forgot where he was, his thoughts (now vanished) so vivid they’d seemed realer than the floor under his back. He pulled himself up onto his elbows and his sight went dark blue from the corners inward.

“Hi,” he told Leverton as the latter entered—too quietly, as it turned out, for them to hear over the sound of the closing door. They peered around the room, but it took them a few seconds to spot him; he could tell they were looking for a seated person, rather than one on the floor. Barty cleared his throat and this time said, “Hello.”

“Oh my god—did you fall? Are you alright?”

“No, I’m fine,” Barty insisted, shaking his head, and then, smiling inanely, added, “I meant to do this.”

(Meant to do that was a long-standing meme of theirs, an offshoot from Leverton’s comparisons of Barty to a cat. After a cat does something stupid, it recovers its dignity so quickly you’d think it was trying to look like the stupid thing it did was all part of the plan. Thus whenever either of them made a mistake too large to ignore but too small for a real apology, they’d say to the other some variation on, Meant to do that.)

“You just thought the linoleum seemed like a nice change of pace from the nice couch we have at home,” summarized Leverton, and Barty noticed how they used the word nice twice in a row.

He lowered his head back to the floor, feeling too dizzy and neck-sore to waste his strength on trifles. “It’s vinyl; they just replaced it.”

“What?”

“The floor.”

“Ah. Vinyl. Excuse me.” They sat cross-legged down next to Barty, on the aforesaid vinyl.

“I’m alright,” Barty said again.

“Yeah, but that word doesn’t mean a lot coming from you. Excuse my cold hands,” Leverton warned, and placed the back of their hand to Barty’s forehead and each cheek in turn, brushing some hair out of the way first so it wouldn’t get in his eyes. Barty flinched slightly, having gone from unpleasantly hot to unpleasantly cold in the time since he’d first made contact with the floor. “Feels like you’ve got a fever. Do you think you might be coming down with something?”

“You just said your hands are cold, though,” pointed out Barty.

“Well, yeah,” Leverton conceded with a snarl of laughter—“‘cause compared to a face I figured they would be.”

“Thought you meant ‘cause you’d come from outside.”

“No; I wasn’t cold out there.”

This week had brought their town its first cold snap of the season, but in California an early-fall cold snap parses out to more like absence of heat wave. The last few days it had been cool enough to keep the AC off, but it was still t-shirt weather out from ten to ten. Leverton’s tie dye, sweatpants and flip-flops attested to this—as well as to how quickly they must have hurried to meet him. Though they worked from home, Leverton usually put on jeans to meet the public. And that tie-dye t-shirt, Barty knew, had a small hole in one armpit. It pleased him to remark that he could still keep track of details like this; too bad these examples of lucidity were invisible to Leverton.

“You look pretty sick,” said the latter. “How do you feel?”

Come to think of it, the word lucid itself could also mean translucent. That was about how he felt: diaphanous, vague, barely-there. His mother always said with it instead of lucid; though she’d never said so, he’d deduced the antonym of with it must be out of it.

“Not my best,” Barty admitted.

“But you didn’t faint, or hurt yourself, or anything.”

“No. Worried I might, but figured I’d preempt it.”

“Always thinking ahead,” scoffed Leverton, combing their hand through some more of Barty’s hair. “Your hair’s all sweaty; did you know that?”

“I did not.”

“You don’t usually sweat that bad just from feeling faint, I didn’t think.”

“You’re right.”

“So again I say, You look sick.”

“I’m probably getting sick.”

Leverton sighed through pursed lips, making them billow noisily. “Well, shit, pal, this is a terrible place to be sick.”

“Such language,” mumbled Barty, without conviction. He was so unused to letting swears pass without comment in this room that it would have taken more effort to say nothing. But Leverton, rightly, ignored this comment:

“Can you stand? Maybe I could get you some water—would that help?”

“Yes, and yes. On my desk,” Barty said, pointing without looking up.

“Uhhh… ah! I see it.” Leverton stood up and brought back Barty’s bottle of water. They sat again, uncapped it, and, once Barty had sat back up on his elbows, handed it to him and gripped his shoulder, presumably to help him keep his balance. Barty gulped down several mouthfuls, broke off to catch his breath, and shoved the cold-sweaty bottle back into Leverton’s hand, eager to lie back down. “Ah!—no—wrong way!” squawked Leverton. “Are you sure you can stand.”

“Just need a minute. Can you drag the desk chair over? Seems a pleasanter middle ground than.”

“Oh—good point. Sure.” They rolled it over, apologizing for the squeaky wheel. When he had more energy, among his friends Barty would sneer and hiss at such unpleasant sounds; the chair’s squeak hurt his head now too, of course, but somehow at the moment he found it easier to withstand unpleasant phenomena than resist them.

After a minute, he did indeed pull himself up and slither into the chair. (Leverton evidently knew better than to offer a hand to help him up; such offers would hurt his pride, and possibly also his shoulders.) His hands shook as he gripped the arms of the chair to haul himself up into it; his head spun; he was so weak the exertion hurt his chest and all four limbs. When he subsided to catch his breath his head throbbed raucously. He leant it into his hand—whose support Leverton then seconded with their own hand. Their touch chilled him at first, but he lacked the strength (whether of will or body who knew) to scoot away. He hadn’t realized how much the weight of his head had hurt his wrist until Leverton’s help removed that hurt.

“You’re really not feeling well, are you.”

“Seems that way.”

“Thank god I didn’t let you drive yourself home.”

“Too bad for the kids, they’re all gonna catch it,” Barty muttered, regretfully; “as will you, of course. And I won’t do nearly this good a job of looking after you.”

“I don’t mind. You’ll do your best.”

“Will I?”

“You always seem to. From my limited perspective.”

“I don’t have your patience. Or your empathy.”

Leverton scoffed: “Empathy? Yes you do! You feel other people’s feelings just as well as I do—you’re just shyer about it. You’re just emotionally constipated.”

“Perhaps,” granted Barty. He doubted that first half, but could already feel himself smiling at Leverton’s flatteries, and knew if he tried to argue that they would hold the smile against him as an admission. So he gave his doubts no more explicit form than, “Nice of you to say so.”

“Are you ready to try and walk to the car?”

Barty sighed, sort of phlegmily—almost a hiss. “Might as well be.”

[imma-lil-teapot]

TMNT 2003/2k3 Headcanon: Crying - (Leonardo)

Feel free to scroll past this first part if you’re not interested in my silly rambling and nonsense. I won’t mind. Promise. ;)

Okey-dokey then, with the global epidemic that is the Coronavirus well in action and most of the world stuck in lockdown (starting this Friday for us too), felt like getting the ‘ol creative juices flowing with a little headcanon-y thingy in preparation for -possibly- more fandom writings to keep myself busy during the house arrest (well... it kinda is!) and hopefully my mind off all the bad news. :( 

Also, this is totally my first one on the blog! WOOT! Please bear in mind that I’m SUPER rusty! Haven’t written in ages so there are bound to be typos and all matter of general errors scattered throughout the post. Don’t pet them! They bite!  

Anyhoo~ Despite attempting to create and share with the goal in mind to uplift spirits, I decided to start on a rather upsetting subject (PLEASE DON’T LEAVE! They end on happy notes ;) ) because, Imma just come and say it, I enjoy seeing my favourite characters shed tears (not for just any old reason -their personality plays a huge role in this- and CERTAINLY not for sadistic reasons, land sakes no! But... well, you’ll see~ ;) ) It makes me all gooey and fuzzy inside to see them display such raw emotion and I just wanna leap into the TV screen to hug and console them. I dunno why. Maybe I’m nuts like that. (Remembers Raph crying at the farm when Leo was badly injured and wishes she could just hug them all and take away the pain) Oh well, if you enjoy visualizing the same, then *High Fives*. :)

So yeah, if you read the title, you’ll know this is based on the 2003/2k3 series (my favs). Hope you all enjoy~ :D Grab tissues cause sad turts ahead! :’(

Jibber jabber stops here~

TURTLES~

LEONARDO - You are here

RAPHAEL

DONATELLO - Coming soon

MICHELANGELO - Coming soon

WARNING(S): Because of the subject, Angst and Hurt/Comfort will be present.

RATING: G (General)

WORD COUNT: Don’t have the foggiest.

ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD:

And apparently gifs too, so without further ado: (Completely unintentional but in actuality, totally intentional rhyming)...

TO THE HEADCANONS~~~~

~LEONARDO~

-- It’s no easy feat to make the leader in blue turn on the waterworks. Leo won’t cry for any old reason. It’s not because he has no emotions, far from it, but being the leader of a small ninja clan -who happen to be family as well- is no easy task in itself: he has a lot on his young shoulders and deals with many issues on a daily basis few his age ever have to.

-- It’s because of these reasons that Leo doesn’t cry often. One of the lesser likely to out of the four brothers. But when he does, it’s an emotionally distressing sight to behold. 

-- Leo tends to cry whenever those closest to him -namely his brothers, his father/master and truest friends- are severely injured or are in a dire situation. Remember his angry/moody arc? The thought of losing any of them causes him great pain and distress, especially if he were the cause of any of it, and when that happens, he can’t stop the dampness that forms around his eyes and soaks into his mask. 

-- He’s not fond of crying, especially in front of others, even though he fully comprehends its normalcy. He feels he needs to be everyone’s rock, their fortress of physical and emotional stability to turn to for strength when things get rough... So when the tears start to fall, he feels he can’t show them, can’t allow them to watch him crumble under the gripling weight of helplessness and anguish.

-- He frantically wipes at his eyes and desperately attempts not to sniffle, but it’s a hopeless battle, for his tears are already a steady stream. 

-- He’ll try to hide when possible, usually retreating to his room to allow the worst of the emotions to spill over before returning to the others... Though he may be in there a while: when Leo lets his emotions go, it can be just as powerful as his red-banded brother’s rage. 

-- He spares no time in making sure the coast is clear for the tears are already streaming by the time he reaches his futon, and there’s no stopping them now as he lets himself drop to his knees, only halfway onto the mattress. He purposefully leaves the room unlit, cloaking his form in the darkness. 

-- He sniffs a few times as he shuffles up against the wall, sitting upright against it, bringing his legs up and hugging them loosely and droops his head against a single knee pad. 

-- His voice desperately wishes to escape. To express its misery. But he won’t allow it to, often placing one hand over his face in a bid to quell the sadness and remain silent in the battle against his own inner turmoil. He refuses to let anyone see him in that state of utter sorrow and vulnerability.

-- He whimpers ever so slightly and coughs a few times as breathing becomes difficult. He knows this episode won’t be over any time soon. Fortunately, he keeps some tissues next to his bed for such rare occasions and tries not to blow too loudly. He thinks back to the last time he cried so hard... It’s been a while. It felt like a build up. 

-- Time has been forgotten as he’s lost in deep thought. By the time he slips a hand across his eyes, only the material of his mask is still slightly damp. He clears his nostrils a couple of times before considering whether he was ready to return to his family. He’d of course straighten up his bedding beforehand, and would also require a trip to the bathroom to wash his face. A true ninja leaves no evidence. 

-- Leo tries to put the horrifying images out of head before leaving his quarters. He doesn’t wish to be weighed down again and thus maybe cause his emotions to come out a second time. He knew someone would catch on that time. Instead, he holds his head up high, focusing on the there and now to carry him forward.  

BONUS EXTRA~

-- Failure is also one of his greatest foes. Leo despises it, but not in the irrational sense; he fully comprehends that in order to grow, one has to lose in order to learn and thus, succeed in turn, and while it can frustrate him when he’s unsuccessful at mastering a martial arts technique for example, he understanders it’s part of the process and that no one’s perfect. 

-- It’s when his slipups could spell casualties or death to his family and/or friends is when it weighs down on him like a boulder strapped to his shell. 

-- A really big one. 

-- And it hurts. So much so that it causes him to become despondent and often teary-eyed when no one’s looking.

-- Boi Bloo might also cry from especially sad movie scenes. He gets seriously into the story, and when the scene is just right -perfect music, perfect timing etc.- you may just catch Fearless with watery eyes. 

-- He can’t help it. After all, he’s a leader, and very caring and kind-hearted individual, so movies showing children or anyone/anything defenceless getting hurt has him not only visibly upset, but also angry at the cause. He’s a softie like that. 

-- He won’t have a meltdown, of course, but the tears are definitely there. Just don’t tease him too much; he’s easily embarrassed by it. ;) 

BONUS EXTRA EXTRA FEMALE READER OR S/O EDITION~ (Can also use an OC/FC insert if you wish, up to you)

You had figured something was up by the time you’d finished greeting everyone in the Splinterson household except for the Turtle you’d long to see most and he hadn’t made his presence yet known. 

The idea that he must’ve been practicing or meditating swiftly vanished when Mikey told you he’d been in his room in the dark for the past few hours. “The guy hardly ever naps, and even so, never this long.” He’d told you. “I dunno, (Y/N), we were about to check on ‘im when you arrived, but maybe you should be the one to. Think he’d really appreciate it.” And there was absolutely no argument from your side as you were already making your way up to the room.

You didn’t know what to expect as you neared the doorway. Could he possibly still just be sleeping? Meditating in the dark instead of his usual spot by the training area? Or... was he sick? The latter now had you concerned and you picked up your pace... Only to pause mid step when an unmistakable sound reached your ears: a sniffle.

Had it come from within his room? It was the only logical explanation as everyone else was downstairs. You were truly perturbed now as you stood outside the doorway and called out the ‘eldest’ Turtle’s name.

There was some shuffling to be heard but you were unable to tell for sure what he was doing -probably trying to neaten up his bed- “(Y/N)? Just a second, okay?” he responded in a rather awkward verging on frantic tone, and you were certain you heard another sniffle escape him. 

That, along with the way he’d replied really didn’t help to put your mind at ease. “Leo, are you alright?” Nor was the pitch blackness in which he remained concealed in.

“Yeah, just... l-looking for something.” There was some more shuffling as if to prove his point, but you were having none of it.

“Then maybe this,” you began, turning around to flick the light switch, “will help?”

“No! Wait!” But it was a split second too late for as soon the brightness illuminated the entire room, you had caught the telltale signs of an emotional meltdown in progress plastered on his face before he quickly turned away and briskly wiped an arm across his face, attempting to hide the shame... or perhaps embarrassment? 

“Leo...?” your heart and voice softened, “Hey, what’s wrong?” You automatically walked to him, closing the gap he was now trying to form. 

“Nothing,” he lied, and acknowledged it was a fruitless attempt but still couldn’t stop himself. Autopilot panic mode was enabled now. “It’s nothing.” 

Unfortunately for him, autopilot mother hen mode was activated for you as you reached with both hands to his carapace and shoulder, gently turning him to face you. “I can see that it’s something.” Your words were gentle, and you wanted nothing more than to take away his pain. “Look at me, Honey.” His body was turned but his head remained to the side. It was clear he didn’t want his obvious distress on display, even to you. “Please, Leo?” You tried again, and slowly but surely, his eyes met yours, and you felt your heart sink further.

The fabric of his mask was wet and eyes were still red with fresh tears that threatened to fall. He appeared so broken and helpless as he stared at you, and even though he uttered no words, you could practically hear him despairingly ask “Is this what you wanted? To see me at my lowest?” from his expression alone. 

Never had you witnessed the leader of this band of mutant brothers cry. At times you had wondered if he ever did, and yet here he was; the incredible pillar of strength and dignity you had come to know and adore, in tears and so dejected that you couldn’t stop your own eyes from becoming damp the more you gazed at him. “Oh, Sweety...” You whispered as you felt your soul shatter. It was too much to bear. You slowly wrapped your arms around him, one around the midsection and the other over his shoulder, and buried your face into his leathery neck, offering every ounce of comfort you could muster.

It didn’t take him long at all to sink into the embrace and return the action. Beyond the point of concerning himself with showing the pain he felt -or the wetness now soaking into your shoulder when he placed his forehead against it- he sniffed and finally allowed the tears to fall once again as fresh waves of emotion surged throughout his body.

And this time, he couldn’t keep the whimpering to himself.

“Shh~ It’s okay, it’s okay,” you soothed, lightly patting and rubbing along the scutes of his shell as he weakly sobbed, finally letting go of all the sadness that gripped him. 

You weren’t even aware of what was wrong, and you most likely wouldn’t find out til later once he calmed down, but right now, he just needed you to hold him. Hold him until the hurt was gone... And so you would. 

AND THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE!

ALL THE FEELS!! I EMBARRASS!!

OMGosh, this turned into a monster! The mother of all HCs!! :O No seriously, this wasn’t meant to be this long! I was suppose to squish all four into one itty bitty little post, but then it just grew... and grew... and GREW! Personally, I blame the Reader Bonus but I’d be damned if I didn’t enjoy writing it! ;P You guys here on Tumblr got me slightly addicted to them and have wanted to attempt some myself so... Anyhoo~ I can’t really say if I’m entirely content with the whole thing, I dunno. I feel some parts are better than others (writing style-wise) but yeah, I really need to get back into the swing of things...

Speaking of which, I DO plan on adding my two cents on the other bois as well, but judging by how this one turned out, they’ll most likely all be this length, more or less, so each Turt will get his own post so I can really jot down those details with all the freedom in the world! That being said, I can’t say when they’ll be added but hopefully soon-ish. :) Raph's next on the list!

Thank you all so much for the read and hope you enjoyed~ :D

~Drag0n Mistr3ss’ Random Fandoms*

[green-eyed-whumpster]

My OC Universe: Rowan 73

Chapter 73 Summary: Cordelia and Peter have a heavy discussion about the boy sleeping in Peter’s room. (Tagobots: @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi, @much-ado-about-whumping, @abitefullofeverything, @whump-me-all-night-long, @sky-or-something-idfk and @tears-and-lilies)

Trigger Warnings: PTSD whumpee, survivor’s guilt

I’m really sorry, guys, I’m a fucking moron. I just uploaded my rewritten chapter and while looking for my Whump Prompt doc. I found the recovered version of the Rowan story. So I’m gonna upload the original chapter. I’m so sorry if I had just been a bit more capable I could have had your chapter up at the normal time. But you’ll get today’s also later this afternoon.

~

“I never ended up moving your bed,” Peter said softly, looking at Rowan’s downturned head. “But I suppose you’d rather sleep with Cordelia than me at the moment,” The boy didn’t really react, the only sign of life being the gentle rise and fall of his shoulders. I don’t want to be any more of a bother than I already have been. “Maybe at least for the first night,” Cordelia suggested, meeting Peter’s eyes. “Come on, Rowan, I can go finish unpacking the cart once you’ve gone to bed,” She said, gently taking his arms to lead him towards her room. “I-I could help you!” He squeaked, looking at her frantically. “It’s fine, Rowan,” She replied, continuing to pull him to the ready space. “You could sleep in my room for the night,” Peter suggested, catching her attention. “Are you sure?” She asked and he nodded. “Go ahead, I don’t mind.” She smiled at him and turned Rowan towards the adjacent room. “Thank you, Peter,” She sighed gently, stirring something in Rowan. “Thank you,” He whispered. It was enough for Peter.

Cordelia closed the door behind her and turned to look at Peter, who had tears welling in his eyes. “What happened to him?” He whispered under his breath, studying her face for her answer. “It’s a long story,” She replied softly. “He’s been gone a long time!” Peter scoffed softly and bit his lip harshly. “How long have you known he was alive?” That was a harder question for Cordelia to answer. “Not long.” She lied. “When Marie began a coup and imprisoned William I realised he was there and saved him.” “Why was he there?” He asked harshly. “He worked for the Prince.” Cordelia could feel the truth creeping up on him and hesitated. “Would it have anything to do with what the ‘work’ that the soldiers that took him wanted?” He hissed. “Peter, don’t get worked up –“ “The Prince’s consort appeared over three years ago!” “I didn’t know it was him then.” She defended. “When did you find out, then?” There was silence. “Cordelia, answer me.” “At the engagement ball.” She answered finally, watching the horror spread across his face. “You let him stay there for so long?” He questioned angrily. “You realised he was being tortured and you just let him stay there?” “Do you honestly think I had a choice? It was a feat of its own to convince Marie to let him go!” She should have expected this. The moment she began trying to find a way to get him out. She knew it would mean doing nothing for a while, of course he was angry. “Aren’t you just glad that I did manage to save his life?” “I had already mourned him,” Peter whispered tearfully. “Does he really want to be alive anymore?” Cordelia tried to step towards him and he stopped her. “What will happen when you inevitably go back? He can’t bear to be near me! I don’t think I can manage losing him again.” “Don’t talk like that,” She replied softly. “Just give him time, time to heal, it will be all right,” “What did they do to him? Why is he bruised?” He wanted the truth. She didn’t know if she could handle telling him the truth. “He was hurt. He-he became William’s consort, and after an incident he was punished. All I can tell you is that he was tortured. And they made him…made him think differently. So, he thinks that he has to pay for kindness, and that he isn’t deserving of basic rights. I don’t even know all that happened.” She murmured. “I swear, if there was any way for me to have gotten him out before then, I would have done it. He had a bodyguard with him all day and when he wasn’t with the bodyguard he was with William. Just like how you originally had to let him go, I knew there was no good I could do if I was dead.” “I’m sorry,” Peter whimpered, wiping his cheeks that had long been soaked with tears. “I-I just…I thought he was dead for so long, and I realise he’s alive but-but he doesn’t want anything to do with me.” “That isn’t your –“ “It is my fault! I should have kept him hidden! I shouldn’t have let them take him! I shouldn’t have told the King of his existence, maybe I could have gotten him from the barracks.” “You know that isn’t true. How would you have been able to imagine people would be so cruel? You always saw the good in people, which is why you even came across Rowan in the first place.” Cordelia soothed, moving forward to embrace Peter. “Kind people always suffer the most. But that doesn’t mean you become a bad person, because what you did led to William taking Rowan from the barracks. And even though life with William certainly wasn’t easy, I’ve been to those barracks and I know what happens to people they took.” Peter paused and nodded weakly, tightening his arms around Cordelia. “But I still caused him so much pain!” He gasped against her shoulder. “Not intentionally,” Cordelia whispered. “Life is horrible. Especially to the nice, and you just can’t help but save those people. You rescued me from my family, and you released Rowan from a bear trap that would have definitely killed him, and offered him maybe the first stable home he had ever had. Something awful ruined that for a while, but you can’t let it stop you from trying again.” Peter scoffed quietly and nodded, burying his face into Cordelia’s shoulder. “You’re right,” He breathed, squeezing slightly. “It’s just…so painful, seeing him so hurt. When I thought he was dead I at least had the comfort of knowing he didn’t have to go through any more of that ever again. And it was a shock, to realise that he was alive, and that…that I had done nothing more to save him, that he had to endure so much while I forgot him.” “You didn’t forget him,” Cordelia replied. “How would you have known he wasn’t dead?” “Why didn’t you tell me? When you found out, why didn’t you tell me right away?” He asked. “He begged me not to. He didn’t want you to know what he had to do. And I didn’t want you to know without being able to do anything, or for you to try something stupid that would only get yourself killed.” She explained, releasing him. “When Marie realised she was pregnant, everything happened so quickly, it was all I could do to make sure that he wasn’t killed along with his bodyguard. Luckily William was a selfish idiot, and Rowan finally snapped, so Marie allowed me to take him away, with the condition that she never see him ever again.” “How could he believe that I would think less of him? What that coward did to him, Gods I wish I could make him pay.” Peter scowled and Cordelia nodded agreeably. “Trust me, he is going to feel every ounce of pain that he inflicted on Rowan. Marie is ensuring it.” The door to Peter’s room closed silently as the pair appeared to be done talking, and Rowan snuck back to the bed Cordelia had tucked him into, his chest shuddering with the effort to contain his sobs.

[jinterlude]

The Best Circus Ever!

↳ Photo/Fansite Credits: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

» Pairing(s): Seokjin x OC (feat. Jungkook x OC)

» Genre(s): Royal!AU, Modern Royal!AU, Relationship!AU, Circus Themed, Romance, Friendship, Fluff, Humor, & Angst (if you really squint lol)

» Warning(s)/Rating: light-swearing, mentions of clowns (not in a horror type of way), and a lot of headassery by the main characters // PG-13

» Word Count: 1.2K 

» Summary: Who says that Seokjin is the only and biggest lovesick fool for his loved one? 

“Guess what! The kingdom of Breterra is putting on their first circus!”

Sowon and Jungkook eyed the overly eager and rather energetic princess strangely. Prince Jungkook turned to his queen - his lover - with hopeful eyes. He silently prayed that his headstrong queen and voice of reason could kindly reject Princess Sumin’s idea. 

Instead, the complete opposite occurred. 

“You serious? I call being one of the animal tamers!” Sowon shouted, playfully winking at Jungkook. For added measure, she cracked her invisible whip with an alluring smile. 

Jungkook’s face immediately became red from embarrassment as his eyes grew wide. On the other hand, Sumin gagged. She definitely did not want that risque image of her dearest friend and boyfriend embedded in her mind. 

Notably, not after what happened last night, the entire reason why Sumin planned her kingdom’s first circus. 

Up until last night, Sumin bottled every single frustration and annoyance to the point that Seokjin told only one of his signature puns, and she lashed the fuck out. 

“For one minute, can you please stop telling your stupid ass puns!? They are not fucking funny, and they never were! So, stop trying!” 

Sumin sucked in air between her clenched teeth. Yeah, the more she remembered her cold words, the more she knew that this circus had to be the best event ever. 

Quickly shaking off last night’s guilt, Sumin smiled brightly and told both Sowon and Jungkook that they had a lot of work ahead of them. 

And, before they knew it, opening night arrived accompanied by a massive wave of nervousness in a certain princess…

“Are you sure it’s not too late to talk Sumin out of this? I mean, she’s gonna be known as the princess who dressed up like a freaking clown!” 

Sowon continuously ignored Jungkook as she searched for Sumin’s cute clown outfit. 

Minutes passed by before the supportive queen successfully found the princess’s outfit for tonight. She held it up, displaying it proudly for the fool that she called a boyfriend. 

“But, at least she’s gonna be known as an adorable clown! You gotta think optimistically here, Kook.” Sowon flashed her famous 100-watt smile. 

Jungkook’s face fell, shaking his head as he sat up from his seat and muttered to himself, 

“And I thought we made fun of Jinnie for being the lovesick fool.”

“I don’t see it as being lovesick. I see it as Sumin being dedicated to her man!”

“You heard me?!” 

Now fully dressed in her circus outfit, the anxiousness crashed into Sumin’s body like a fifty-foot tidal wave. With trembling fingers, Sumin pulled the red velvet curtains enough for her peek through. A faint gasp escaped her lips as she saw her fiancé front and center in the first row. 

Soon, a soft smile graced her painted face as Seokjin’s complete and utter confusion looked quite humorous to her. However, before she could get lost in her loving thoughts of Seokjin, the announcer's voice interrupted her. The woman signaled both to the audience and the performers that the show was about to begin.

“Alright...it’s showtime!” 

Taking one final breath, Sumin mustered all the courage in the world and dramatically pulled open the curtain. 

Shocks and gasps echoed throughout the brightly lit tent, followed by cheers and screams of joy. 

“Ahh! You look so cute, Princess Sumin!” 

“Usually, clowns creeped me out to no end, but you look so adorable, Princess Sumin!” 

Sumin’s face practically beamed as she held up the microphone to her red-stained lips. 

“Good evening, people of Breterra, and welcome to our first annual circus! As you know, my name is Sumin, and before I introduce the first act of the evening, I thought it would be fun to warm up the crowd first. What do you guys think? Sounds good?” She asked before holding out the microphone towards the audience, though, her eyes locked on Seokjin. 

Seokjin, chuckling at how charming his princess was being, gave her thumbs up. Typically, it was him pulling out all the stops to make it up to Sumin after they had a huge argument. But his princess just had to top his last event. Honestly, Seokjin knew his princess was moody, so he didn’t take her words to heart. He knew that Sumin loved him, terrible jokes, and all, so he didn’t question it nor felt offended by it. If anything, he felt angry with her for not telling him what bothered her so damn much. He warned her that she’d eventually lashed out if she didn’t talk it out. 

And did she listen? 

Nope. 

Now, she landed herself in this rather interesting predicament. 

Well, he might as well enjoy this moment since he’d probably never see Sumin dress up like a clown again. 

Pouring his attention toward his princess, he eagerly stared at her, waiting for her warm-up skit. 

“Poor baby, she probably feels nervous…” He thought, slightly worried for her. 

“Alright, everyone! Are you guys ready?!” 

Cheers and applause erupted from the audience. 

“That’s the energy I love to see! Okay! So, did you guys hear about the clown who ran away with the circus?” 

“No…!”

“They made him bring it back!” 

A second after she said the punch line, the hired drummer played that signature drum rift. 

Then, an awkward silence filled the entire tent.  If it could, it would float to the hemisphere and cover the whole planet. 

Sumin puffed her cheeks, looking extremely adorable, before telling her next joke. 

“Okay, why are circus performers often stressed?!

The audience glanced at one another before collectively mumbling, 

“...why…?”

“Because their jobs are in tents!” 

Once more, the hired drummer played the drum rift, and this time, Seokjin’s infamous windshield-like laughter followed. 

“Good one, honey!!” Seokjin encouraged his fiancée as he clapped enthusiastically. 

Sumin blew a kiss towards him, “See, this is why I am marrying that handsome man, who is sitting front and center! He supports me and crazy antics, even when I don’t deserve it. I can always count him to be in my corner, rooting for me and encouraging me to become better,” Sumin then walked towards him and got down on one, “Seokjin, I was and still am a complete clown for not listening to you. Can you ever forgive me?” She asked, smiling sweetly as she pulled out a rose from its hiding place. 

A collective, “awe” sounded throughout the circus tent. 

Seokjin shook his head playfully, taking the rose from his princess’s hand. 

“You dork, I forgave you an hour after our fight,” He kissed Sumin’s temple sweetly, “But I’ll forgive you even more if you tell one more circus pun.”

“NO!”

Both Seokjin and Sumin stared at the audience, looking a bit offended by their shouts. 

Just as Sumin put the microphone to her lips, Sowon’s voice interrupted the happy couple. 

“Okay, now that you two made up. Go to Sumin’s room and start practicing to produce future heirs! Jungkook and I can finish up the circus.”

“SOWON!”

A/N: I had way too much fun writing this crack/humor story. To think, all I need to do is become a clown, and then inspiration will strike me! I like to thank @softjeon​ for giving me this idea! This year is the year where we are all clowns, whether we know it or not. LOL  

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this rather amusing yet entertaining special chapter (though it was supposed to be a drabble, so I’m in trouble with Jey)! Also, for the picture/fansite credits, they are linked in the order of where I found them/came across first. So, the fansite picture credits are the last 4 numbers! 

Don’t forget to leave a comment/like/reblog/and an ask in my inbox! I love hearing your thoughts!

- Kim

[komarto]

“Welcome to the Shadow Records!” (1/2)

I might have went overboard and wrote a fic to intro my OCs to the Hazbin Universe... with a spice of a reader insert! You can also find it on AO3

Summary: After falling into hell, you hired the I.M.P.s to take out your abusive ex. But they can’t seem to find him in the living world, so you have to visit the local information broker for their whereabouts.

Words: 2374

Tws: Implied/ referenced abusive and manipulative relationship, Implied/ referenced suicide

Luna: “Blitz!”

Blitzo: “Yes Luna?”

Luna: “Yeah, dispatch just came back and they can’t find the target.”

Blitzo: “What do you mean they can’t find the target?”

Luna: “They can’t find them in the living world.”

Blitzo: “Well, if they’re not in the living world, then it’ll mean they’re dead. And with all the shit that the customer says that they’ve done to them, very terrible by the way, they would most likely end up here in hell. And frankly, that’s not our job. Hell’s too big to find and kill 1 person.”

Millie: “So what now? We can’t just tell them that we couldn’t find their target, sir...”

Moxie: “What if we asked the Shadow demon, sir?”

Blitzo: “The who?”

Moxie: “Y’know, the Shadow demon that hunted down 25 demons in a month a few years back and killed them with the Radio demon?”

Blitzo: “They gave them a lame title now? Man, the people here really needs to brush up on their naming game.”

Moxie: “She’s an information broker now, has a little collection of something on everyone in hell.”

Blitzo: “And you know that how?”

Moxie: “I… might have asked her about some stuff.”

Blitzo: “Riiiight, sure. Totally not suspicious at all. Well you can give her a call or something and see what happens.”

“This is the Shadow Records, what can we do for ya?”

Moxie: “Ah- hello, um, Shadow demon, this is uh Moxie calling in from the Immediate Murder Professionals.”

“Moxie, how nice of you to call in. And please, call me Deni. This isn’t the first time we talked and you’re a nice guy. So, are the I.M.P.s having some trouble with a client?”

Moxie: “You could say that. Our dispatch team can’t find their target, so we figured that they’re already here.”

“And you need my help to find them.”

Moxie: “Y-yes. Can you?”

“Oh sure, but you know my pricing, Moxie. It’s either money, a favour, or something that I don’t know.”

Moxie: “Well... we can have client owe you?”

“Fair enough. What’s their name?”

Moxie gives the broker your name.

“I’ve heard of them here and there. I’ll have Amelie send an eye over to get them. Have the client there in 3 hours.”

Moxie: “Of course, mam’, thank you so much for this.”

“No problem, Moxie. Just a little reminder of the favour you owe me. I’ll see them soon.”

Moxie: “Yeah, I know, thanks for that… bye bye.”

Blitzo: “What’d she say?”

Moxie: “She said to have the client be here so she can send an… eye to get her?”

Blitzo: “The fuck she going to do with an eye?”

Moxie: “I don’t know! Just call the person over and it’ll get them in 3 hours!”

Blitzo: “Fine! Luna call the client over!”

(Y/N)’s POV

It’s been a few days since you’ve contacted the I.M.P.s about your request to kill your abusive ex that landed you here. In your last moments, you prayed that the Lord would forgive the sins they made you commit as you stepped off the ledge.

You guess not. It was a rather rude awakening when you found yourself in hell. You’ve only recently found the Immediate Murder Professionals from their ad, and heck, you wanted your ex to pay for what they did, what they made you do in your cursed life. Your entire life was a fuck fest of issues and bad memories from everyone around you. Your abusive parents, manipulative and controlling ex, dead-end jobs, etc...

You did your best, you really tried. But it all came to a point where you were just too tired of trying… You just hoped that karma would finally be on your side and burn everyone that has ever wronged you.

You got a call back from them telling you to be at their headquarters in 3 hours. Had they done the job? That was fast. Nevertheless, you were eager to be there on time, maybe reach there a few minutes earlier.

You reached the door to their office 15 minutes before the meeting time. You knocked on the door and the tall imp demon greeted you. “Ah (Y/N), come in come in, here take a seat and Moxie will explain everything.”

“Hey! Wha-” the shorter employee looked at him shock. “Aren’t you suppose to explain the circumstances first?”

“It was your stupid idea! Frankly, we could have just told them the problem and go on our merry way! Now go do your fucking job.” Blitzo waved at him and walked out of the room.

Your mind is filled with question. What problem? What stupid idea have they thought of and why does it concern you?

“Hey, its gonna be alright dear just listen for a minute.” Mille pats you on your shoulder and joins Moxie at his side

Moxie clears his throat. “Well, first of all, thank you for making your way here on such a short notice, I know it can be quite hard to get here for some people. Ah um, secondly, our dispatch team ran into some complications in the living world and uh, they couldn’t find the person that you wanted us to murder. Which means that they’re here in hell, which would make it very hard to find them.”

“But! But, ah, we have a solution! There’s an information broker that I know of that can help. It’s just that well…”

“Well?” you asked sceptically.

“You have to pay for their services.”

“What? I don’t have the money to pay someone else to do the job! That’s what I paid you guys to do!”

“Yes, we know! But! There are other ways to pay them, like owing them a favour or like telling them like something that they don’t know, y’know with the whole information broker deal thing. It's practically free.” Moxie explained.

“Not when I owe some creep a favour, god knows what they’ll want from me!” you snapped back at him. A muffled tapping sound could be heard from the window but you were too worked up to care about whatever it is.

“It’s probably bad to talk about the shadow demon like that…” Millie murmured as he looked shyly to the side.

Your eyes widened at her and your head whipped back to Moxie “The SHADOW DEMON? THAT’S WHO I’M SUPPOSE TO MEET?” you exclaimed.

That’s it, you’re dead. You’ve heard rumours of the Shadow demon. But in just a month or so in hell, they had teamed up with the Radio demon, a feat on its own, and had killed 20 over demons.

Wrapped them up in little bows and strung them on the overlord’s radio tower to be picked off painfully by the angels during the cleanse. Their pleads and screams were broadcasted across hell through the radios like the Radio demon’s previous plot, but never at this scale.

“Calm down (Y/N), the Shadow demon’s a nice person from what I’ve heard, she won’t hurt you if you haven’t done anything to her.” Millie assured you, her voice calm but still held a hint of nervousness.

“Shadow demon’s a “her”? Well that’s a first.” you scoffed. He, they… the rumours never got their pronouns down, but you’ve never heard anyone call the Shadow demon a “her”.

“Yeah well, she said she’ll have an eye to bring you to her. So it’ll benefit all of us, hopefully mostly you, that you follow her orders.” Moxie continues checking the clock on the wall.

You let out a frustrated sighed. “Well fuck that. Nice or not, I’m not sticking around to find out. If you can’t do the job just give me a fucking refund and we’ll be on our merry way.”

“Well no can do (Y/N), the boss already spent it on keeping the TV ad on the air.” Moxie crossed his arms.

You were fuming at this point, and that incessant tapping wasn’t making it any better. “I don’t care about your fucking jingle, I want my fucking money back if you can’t do what I paid you to do!” you hit the table under you in anger.

“Um, guys?” Millie tapped on Moxie’s shoulder as she stared to her right.

“And what the fuck is making that tapping sou-” Your complaints were drowned by the gazed of the most unsettling creature that was outside the window.

Behind the glass, hovered a single eyeball with a pink iris and a black star of its pupil. Its bat wings that kept it airborne tapped against the glass with each flap. The thing had no eyelids so it simply maintained eye contact with you as you stared back at it in shock.

“Moxie, is that the ‘eye’ that we were waiting for?” Millie breaks the silence, pointing to the mysterious but obvious eye.

“I-uh, I think so?” Moxie walks over to the window to open it and the eye bat thing calmly flies into the room. The eyeball makes its way over to you and circles over your head whimsically before flying out of the window to watch you from outside.

“It’s actually kinda cute.” Millie walks over to the window to get a closer look at it. The eye turns to watch her and gives her a light bump on her cheek before returning to stare at you.

“See, no harm at all!” Millie giggled, turning back to the both of you.

“I suppose that your cue to follow it?” Moxie nudges you.

You let out another heavy sigh and rubbed your nose bridge. You know what, fuck it. What do you have to lose at this point?

“Fine. And if I manage to come back with their whereabouts I want to see his severed head when ya’ll actually do your job.”

You exit their headquarters, not bothering to slam the door on your way out. You may be mad, but you’re not that mean... Even if this is hell. Outside the main entrance of the building was the same winged eye keeping its self afloat at your eye level. You exit the building and the eye flies around you like it did before. Its makes a full circle around you and flies off in a direction. It stops a few steps away from you before turning back to look at you, beckoning you to follow it.

You bit your lip nervously as you took the first few steps of letting the thing guide you to your potential death.

As you followed the eye, you began to grow interested in the little thing. Was it another denizen of hell or was it like one of the Shadow demon’s minions? As far as you knew, the Shadow demon could manipulate the shadows and hide in them, not eyeball minion magic.

You were also beginning to agree with Millie that it was kind of cute in its own way. As it guided you through the quiet back streets, it would turn to see if you were following and sometimes do a play full barrel roll or loop in the air. You couldn’t help but smile at its antics, your mind no longer worrying about your encounter with the rumoured shadow demon

As you walk about of the alley and onto the main road, you are met with a building with a sign that said “Shadow Records” in black calligraphy. It resembled a multi-story shophouse with a new coat of paint and traditional doors and windows that gave off a sense of sophistication and warmth, unlike most of the bar and brothel filled streets of hell.

At the entrance stood a young demon girl swaying side to side on her thin legs. She wore a pink lolita dress with white ruffles and blue accents. As you stepped closer, you could see pastel pink bandages that wrap her forearms loosely and covered her eyes and forehead. The pink almost blending in with her light pink skin, though her electric blue hair made her stand out from afar.

She does a little pirouette at the top of the stairs and stops in your direction. The eye makes a dash over to her and she lets out a musical giggle as it lands in between her two hair buns. You walk up the stairs and she greets you excitedly.

“Hi there! You must be (Y/N), the name’s Amelie, Deni’s waiting for you upstairs. Come on!” she opens the door and steps into the building.

“Um, okay?” you follow her in hesitantly. This is where you die, you guessed.

The young demon girl, Amelie, hums a whimsical tune as she skips her way up a flight of stairs with you in tow. Your first impression is that she seems to be too young to be here in hell. Then again, everything could be an act to get you comfortable and then kill you so you kept your guard up.

Seeing as how your previous companion was so familiar with the girl, and is still seated comfortably between her hair, you figured that it was probably her minion instead of the Shadow demon.

“Come on, we’ve been waiting for you.” Amelie calls to you as she skips towards a large oak door that looks like it was built of someone thrice you height. You gulped at you looked up at the scale of the door.

Amelie raps her knuckles on the door in a rhythm before opening it.

Before you sat what you could only assume is the shadow demon behind their desk with a manila folder in hand. Their red eyes glanced up at you as the door opened and you could feel their white cat-like pupils bare into your very being. It was at this point you realise that the dark wall behind was also lined with eyes that were staring back at you. In fear, you took a step back, ready to make a mad dash for the exit.

A soft laugh reached your ears and you turned to see a muscular reptilian leaning against the long desk look at you with mirth in his black sclera and turquoise eyes.

The Shadow demon speaks up. 

“Hello (Y/N). Welcome to Shadow records.”

[motleymoose]

Homecoming Pt 4: Nevarro Ch 3

Chapter 3

Getting to Know One Another

Fandom: The Mandalorian, Star Wars Characters: The Mandalorian (Din Djarin), Gender Neutral Reader, Various Unnamed Mandos, Paz Viszla, Drys Reyn (OC) - mention Words: 2.1k+ Warnings: Mostly friendly joshing, some angst (dang them emotions!)

Summary:

It would just be easier if I could punch all the things instead of dealing with emotions.

Notes:

The chapters for this part are short (I am just.... too tired to put out much more), but there are TWO MORE than the previous parts, so yay!

I mashed some Mando'a again, but THIS TIME I lurked on the mandoa dot org forums and gleaned a few noncanon words and learned a tiny bit about sentence structure (still not perfect, but it'll work for now, I hope???)

Thanks as always for reading, and stay tuned for more unwarranted anger and awkward fights!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Homecoming Masterlist

We left the Armorer’s sanctum and turned left out the door down a long, dimly lit hallway. A scattering of warriors, encased in beskar armor, lounged on the floor and leaned against the walls. The chattering between them stopped when we approached.

A mountain of a Mandalorian stepped in front of the rest, his blue-gray armor worn but well-maintained. The bounty hunter stopped two paces from the other. The crown of his head barely reached the lip of the blue warrior’s helmet.

“All debts are paid,” the bounty hunter growled, all the while staring straight into the larger Mandalorian’s chest plate.

The blue warrior gave a full-belly laugh, leaning away from the hunter as he slapped his solid thigh and shook his mighty helmet. “Oh, verd’ika. You never cease to amaze me.” His impossibly deep voice seemed bright and cheerful, something I had yet to experience with the bounty hunter.

The shorter Mandalorian stood rooted to the spot, fists clenched at his sides. “Then what do you want.”

Straightening up to his imposing height, the blue-gray Mandalorian nodded towards me. “Tion’tuur haar jatekara’la solus?”

Blushing in embarrassment but increasingly becoming bolder, I stepped closer until I was shoulder-to-shoulder with the bounty hunter. “You’re funny, guy” I cooed sarcastically. “But I’d much rather spend my nights in a cold bunk, thank you very much.”

All of the Mandalorians turned their attention to me. I scowled back at them.

“I like this one!” the giant chuckled, laying a heavy gauntlet on the bounty hunter’s pauldron and pulling him in for a side hug. “Keeps you on your toes.” The other warriors laughed in unison. They returned to their tasks as the blue-gray Mandalorian half-drug, half-marched the hunter down the hallway. Wearily, I followed close behind, the child’s protective crib humming along beside me.

With the low lighting and almost no landmarks, I soon lost all sense of direction in the underground covert as I lagged wearily behind. Every few yards, a doorway would appear cut into the tunnel wall, looking exactly like the last. From the briefest of glances, I noted several storage rooms (weapons, food, medical) and family areas. The long hall tapered, funneling us into a boxy lobby. The nearest door led into something akin to a school.

Children of all ages and species darted in and out of the last one, squealing and giggling as they chased one another up and down the chamber. Adults working within the family rooms and in the widened tunnel itself could be heard admonishing, teasing and teaching the young rabble. How were they able to learn anything in all the ruckus? I could barely understand my own thoughts let alone what anyone else was saying. It would’ve been impossible to hold any sort of conversation with all of the shrill whistles and high shrieks bouncing off the walls.

As soon as we were past the school, a short Mandalorian in pale green beskar stepped out of the room and yelled. “Gev, verdike!” Her clear, commanding voice cut through the hubbub, and the children obediently stopped their revelry, returning reluctantly to the classroom.

The larger Mandalorian had let go of the bounty hunter by then, picking his way thoughtfully through the stream of little ones, handing out fist bumps and hair ruffles to many of them. Smiles brightened their round little faces, and I spotted several gap-toothed grins. A thought, both terrible and validating, gripped my brain, and I hastened to catch up to him, puffing with the effort of dodging around distracted children.

“Are-are all of these kids foundlings?” I asked breathlessly when I reached the gray-blue giant.

Turning his helmet a fraction, the big warrior studied me for a moment. “No, not all of them.” We stopped momentarily, letting a frazzled-looking man with an armload of burlap sacks unload his cargo onto an awaiting wooden trolley. Once he had secured his sacks and steered the cart out of the way, we continued on. “Some are born into the Clan. But most come to us because the galaxy can be a cruel, unforgiving place.”

“Ah.” I was relieved to hear that my circumstances weren’t out of the norm, but really I had nothing more to say on the subject.

Once we left the echoing lobby, the larger Mando led us to a small room down a seemingly deserted corridor. Opening the simple door, he gestured for me and the bounty hunter to enter. The child, still snoring in his cradle, tagged immediately behind.

The room was sparsely decorated, with a low table, much like the one in the Armorer’s sanctuary, a boxy wardrobe against the far wall, and a pull-out bunk, already extended and ready for use, near the door. The only other things in the room were two days worth of rations stacked neatly on the table and a bedroll with several thick blankets set beside the bunk.

I turned to the blue-gray Mandalorian. “What’s going on?”

The giant looked from me to the hunter. I could almost picture his kind, bright eyes in behind his darkened visor. “Do you still not know how to communicate?” he laughed, slapping the bounty hunter roughly on the back. “You need to work on that, vod, lest it comes back to bite you in the ass!”

Smothering a grin, I turned away from the pair and surveyed my surroundings once more. Nothing unusual, nothing dangerous, just a snug and tidy room all to myself. “Thank you for your hospitality, but I think I’m going to turn in for the day…” I stepped closer, hoping to crowd the warriors out of the room.

“Oh, erm-” the bounty hunter started.

The blue-gray Mando snorted. “Oh, brother, you really haven’t changed at all, have you?” He silently backed into the hallway, a huge feat for someone so large and covered in heavy metal plates. “You should definitely be the one to explain that!” he said pointedly to the bounty hunter before shoving the door closed with a sharp click.

Bewildered, I bit my lip and furrowed my brow as I tried to piece together what he had been getting at.

The bounty hunter, meanwhile, shifted nervously from foot to foot, his cloak gently brushing against the beskar. It would have been comforting if I hadn’t found him so frustratingly aggravating.

“Will you stop that?” I finally snapped, tossing my bag at the foot of the bunk and collapsing on the stiff mattress. “No one is telling me anything, and I like it about as much as I like you.” I tugged off my boots and kicked them under the bed. “So spill. Why the heck are we here, and what was that all about?”

The bounty hunter hummed tunelessly, tapping his cuisses with a nervous finger. After a moment of internal debate, he strode across the room and slouched onto the table. The neat stacks of ration packets skittered lightly over the smooth surface, sliding over the edge and landing on a cushion with a muffled plisskff. Ignoring the food, the Mandalorian unfastened and stripped off his gloves, one finger at a time. Once removed, he laid them one at a time across each knee, smoothing the soft leather over and over again with his long, blunt fingers.

“W-what do you know about Reyn?” he asked, staring at the ground, his elbows resting heavily upon his thighs.

“I already told you everything I know,” I mumbled. Falling back onto the body-sized cushion at the head of the bunk, I wriggled deeper into the rough mattress, sighing as my muscles slowly relaxed. “I only know what he taught me, and as you can tell, it wasn’t much.”

Making a noncommittal sound, the bounty hunter continued to rub the gloves on his knees. He didn’t say anything for a long while.

I was dozing when he spoke next, and I had to fight myself awake in order to understand what he was telling me.

“-that was all before the Empire collapsed.”

I rolled to my side and squinted at him, suddenly very, very interested. “What’s this about the Empire?”

Huffing in frustration, the Mandalorian twisted both gloves between his fists and looked up at me. “Drys Reyn? He’s aruetii. He sold out his Clan, a Rebel-aligned faction of the Death Watch, to the Empire. When the Imperials arrived, instead of arresting the leaders of the rebellion, making examples of them, the troopers slaughtered all of them. Right down to the smallest foundling. Reyn took the credits the Moff paid him and ran.” The hitch in his voice was barely noticeable, the tremble in his fingers practically nonexistent, but the emotion was there and I saw it. “Rumor was he’d been killed in a firefight by a smuggler. And that’s what the covert believed until…” He swallowed audibly, the grip on his gloves tightening dangerously.

“Until what?” I whispered, unwilling to believe that my caretaker had done anything so heinous as getting his kindred murdered by the Imps. He had been a stern but kindly old man, blunt to the point of offense yet overly forgiving for any and all trouble I caused. There was still a little part of me that even loved my buir, no matter how much he had hurt me when he’d left.

The bounty hunter angled his helmet towards me, shoulders sagging as his hands drooped between his thighs. “You,” he replied. “Without you, the covert would’ve gone on believing he was dead. You are the key to finding him. To make him pay for his crimes against the Clans.”

“But he could still very well be dead!” I exclaimed. Dread and fear bloomed joyfully in my chest, the growing tension in my body sprouting painfully through my tired muscles. Piecing together what he was possibly getting at, I shot straight up in the bunk, clenching the cushion to my chest. “Last time I saw him was years ago, when he left me on my homeplanet to rot.” Exhaling fiercely, I let go of the pillow and struggled to the edge of the bed. I had to get out of the tunnels, away from the covert. It was all becoming too claustrophobic for my liking. “I haven’t heard anything of him since then,” I said, shoving my feet back into my boots. “And trust me, I looked.” With that statement, I jumped to my feet, grabbed my pack and swung it over my shoulders. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta go… somewhere that isn’t here.” Discretion went out the window when I had leapt out of bed, so I opted for the quickest and least stealthy solution and lunged for the door.

As usual, the Mandalorian had seen my actions before I could even think them all the way through.

Hands like iron clamped onto my biceps from behind, spinning me in mid-air. I landed on my feet, somewhat wobbly but altogether upright. With a gentle shove, he directed me back to the bunk. Snarling, I tried to duck under his arm. He dragged me back to the bunk by the straps of my bag.

“Touch me again, chakaar, and I will punch you so hard that -”

“K’uur, vod’ika. Udesii! I don’t want to fight you,” he said when I whirled on him, fists raised. He raised his hands, palms out to show that he meant no harm.

I was wary in believing him.

“Then why can’t I leave? And what do you mean ‘vod’ika?’” I lowered my fists a fraction and glared at him. “You and me ain’t on friendly terms, bub.”

Stepping backwards slowly, the bounty hunter came to a stop when he was parallel to the door. “There’s no easy way to say this.”

“Okay?” I snorted derisively. “When has anything ever been easy between us?”

He flinched slightly, and I almost felt guilty about my words. Almost.

“The thing you have to understand is that when Mandalorians adopt a foundling, that child is a part of the Clan until it is reunited with its people or comes of age and chooses to leave. Some warriors take on many foundlings, and some can only care for one,” he explained patiently, his gaze somewhere at my knees. “D-Drys Reyn was one with many, from everywhere. Most he was able to return to their kind. But others like-” He stopped, swallowing once more. “Others like you and… and me. We would’ve had no family to be returned to.”

Stunned, my hands dropped heavily to my sides. I shuffled tentatively forward, unsure whether I was going to cry or hit something. “Are-are you saying that…?”

Clearing his throat, the Mandalorian looked directly into my eyes. “My name is Din Djarin,” he said softly. “And I am part of your Clan.”

__________________________________________

Notes:

verd’ika - private (rank) Can be used affectionately, often to a child; *little soldier* - context is critical. Tion’tuur haar jatekara’la solus? - (*furiously mashes Mando’a together*) When’s the lucky day? (lit. “Which day is the lucky one?”) Tion’tuur (which day); haar (the - definite article - rare and emphatic); jatekara’la (jate’kara - luck, ‘la - [-ly] adj. [ whole word from Taljair te Mir'ad on mandoa.org forums]) Gev, verdike! Pack it in, little soldiers! aruetii - traitor, foreigner, outsider chakaar - corpse robber, thief, petty criminal - general term of abuse K’uur, vod’ika. Udesii! - Hush, little sibling. Calm down! (Take it easy!)